Anchorage resident Rena Virginia Campbell Baker, 79, died peacefully July 23, 2009, at Providence Extended Care Center in Anchorage. A prayer service will be at 4 p.m. Sunday at First Baptist Church of Anchorage, 1100 W. 10th Ave. Her final resting place will be with her parents in Virginia.

Rena was born Sept. 11, 1929 in Luray, Va. She graduated from Luray High School in 1946. She worked for the Virginia Welfare Department before moving to Alaska in 1954.

Rena began her career with the Federal Government in 1963 and lived and worked in Fairbanks, the Pribilof Islands and Bethel. She began working for the Bureau of Land Management in Anchorage in 1964 until her retirement in 1999 from the Lands Division as land law examiner. She had completed numerous professional courses during her career.

Her family wrote: "Rena was a beloved and respected family member and friend. She is remembered by family members as a 'tiny butterfly' as a child, very intelligent and a best friend on the family farm, where she especially enjoyed the hills and flowers. Her gentle spirit and kindness meant very much. Her style and flair were always present as was her love of dance. She remained a faithful correspondent with her loved ones."

Rena was preceded in death by her parents, Irvin W. "Doc" Campbell and Virgie Violet Campbell; full sisters, Linda Catherine Campbell and Pauline Violet Campbell Burner; half-sisters, Dollie Housden Turner, Myrtle Housden Alger, Maggie Housden Alger, Flossie Housden Price and Thelma Campbell Hinton; half-brothers, Leon Housden, Raymond Housden, Johnny Campbell and full niece, Sondra Burner Galloway. She is survived by half-sister Ethel Housden Painter of Stanley, Va.; full nephew William Joseph Burner of Jonesboro, Ga.; full great niece, Annette Wallace of Luray, Va.; and numerous nephews, nieces and extended family members.

Rena was a member of the First Baptist Church of Anchorage and the Women of the Moose. Arrangements are by The Cremation Society, Anchorage. Published in adn.com from July 31 to August 1, 2009