Mrs. Diane B. Baker, wife of (pre-deceased) Major General George I. Baker, passed away peacefully early Friday evening, August 4th of natural causes. She was 88, born in South Dakota and had been a resident of The Nottingham Retirement Community since December 2005. Upon relocating to the Syracuse area as a child, Diane grew up, graduating from Syracuse University in 1951 with a Bachelor of Arts & Sciences degree, in German language, literature & culture. She then married fellow graduate, George Ivan Baker on June 30, 1952 in a ceremony held at Hendricks Chapel at the University. She & her husband, relocated to the Washington, D.C. area in 1954, in order for him to complete his Orthopedic internship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center & Hospital. During their time at Walter Reed, Diane was a strong advocate for families of wounded soldiers, returning from the Vietnam war, and assisting new families immigrating from the war torn area in assimilating to their new country. Early in her husband's military career, they were fortunate enough to be transferred to Germany, where they enjoyed traveling Europe, and Diane was able to immerse herself in the German culture, cooking, arts & theatre. Following her husband's retirement from the military in 1980, Major General & Mrs. Baker relocated back to the Syracuse area, where they settled in Tully, and continued to be active supporters of the Syracuse Universities Athletic program, In addition, they establishing the Max J. Baker Scholarship Fund at the University in 1992. She was a member of the St. Stephen Lutheran Church. Diane is survived by her daughter, Anne R. Santee (David) of Lake Forest, Illinois; and son, Robert Alton Bjertness of Woodstock, Georgia, along with 5 Grandchildren: Christina, Brandon & Connor Santee and Dallas & Carina Bjertness. Calling hours will be Saturday, August 19th, from 1 - 3 P.M. at the Carter Funeral Home, Inc. located at 1604 Grant Blvd. with a service to follow. Mrs. Baker will join her husband, and will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The family suggest that expressions of sympathy be in the form of contributions to the Max J. Baker Scholarship Fund at the Maxwell School of Citizenship at Syracuse University, Syracuse, N. Y. 13210.

Published in the in the Syracuse Post Standard from Aug. 12 to Aug. 13, 2017