Birth date: Jul 5, 1929 Death date: May 29, 2026
Mr. Donald R. Baker, Sr. age 96, of West Olive passed away Friday, May 29, 2026. He was born in Des Moines, IA to James and Mary Ellen (Barger) Baker and served his country in the US Marines during the Korean Conflict. On August 2 Read Obituary
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Sytsema Funeral & Cremation Services - The VanZantwick Chapel
620 Washington, Grand Haven MI 49417
I am grateful to have known Don when I served at Royal Park as one of the chaplains. He was always delighted when one of his pastors would come to have lunch when we organized that for Pastor Appreciation Month. He would call me multiple times to RSVP! My condolences to Don's family - Sincerely, Cindy Nyhoff
I have a lot of memories about uncle Don. He and aunt Norma talked my mother, Phyllis, into renovating an old cottage on Sylvan Lake in Newaygo County. It definitely needed a lot of work. When my oldest son Elliot, at the age of 5 or 6, first saw the place he said, "grandma no live here, place fall down". Don and Norm worked all winter long while my mother was at her place in Florida. When she returned the cottage had been transformed into very nice dwelling. It served as our family's placed to go for 30 years.
I remember one night there was a big storm, Don and Norma had their own place down by the lake. Trees were down, the area around the lake was a mess. Don got up the next day and started to help clean up the debris. The neighbors were in awe of Don's strength and his know-how ability to get the place cleaned up. I was very proud of my uncle that day that's just who he was, if you needed help he was there. Rest In Peace Uncle Don your life was well lived.
As a kid, my family spent alot of weekends with uncle Don and his family. We took vacations to Michigan. Uncle Don, Aunt Norma, Don, Jeff and Maurine, always made sure we had a great time. I miss them all and the great times we had. He will truly be missed. Rest in peace Uncle Don. Love Jana Saltzman Shryock.
