Obituary of Willie B. Baker

Willie B. Baker passed away surprisingly at the age of 81 (a day before her 82nd birthday) on Friday March 12, 2021 at Jefferson Hospital in Washington Township, New Jersey. She was born on March 13, 1939 in Statesville, Georgia to Willis and Mattie Bell Archer. At a young age she moved to St. Petersburgh, Florida where she grew up. Willie attended Gibbs High School in St. Petersburgh, Florida where she graduated in the class of 1958. After high school she continued her education for two years at St. Petersburgh Jr College and then attended college at Florida A&M in Tallahassee, Florida where she later earned her Bachelor of Science in Education degree in 1962. Willie began working for the Department of Child & Family Services in St. Petersburg, FL. In December of 1962, Willie married the late Paul E. Baker and from that union they raised Tony and Pamela Baker. Together, they moved to a few cities, until they settled in Clementon, New Jersey. There Willie worked for DYFS, the Division of Youth and Family Services as a social worker for several years. Within her career she became a licensed mental health therapist for the state of New Jersey and because of her love for teaching and education, Willie taught at Edgewood Junior High School in Atco, NJ and at Morgan Village Middle School as a Social Studies teacher, in Camden NJ, where she later retired. While working in the city of Camden she also assisted in writing the curriculum for the social studies program. Willie genuinely enjoyed working hard to make a difference within the community and within the lives of the students she taught. She devoted her time as a dropout prevention coordinator and supervisor of adjudicated minors in the city of Camden. Willie was preceded in death by her late husband Paul Baker, her daughter Pamela Baker, her brother Robert E. Archer and her loving parents, Willis and Mattie B. Archer. Cherished memories are held by her son, Tony L. Baker, his daughters, LaToya (Baheyadeen Abdelmalik-Epps), Angela (Issac Ware), Nakeeda Baker, and Anita (Emmanuel Watts). Her sisters/brothers Carolyn Mack, Betty Ardoin, Vivian Archer, and Johnny Archer (Kareen). Her great grandchildren Kyair, Mekhi, Elijah, Morgan, Malachi, Mia, Kayla, Egypt, baby Major, and a host of other relatives and friends.