CHARLES “CHARLIE” WAYNE BAKER
was an honorable son, brother, husband, Dad, Pa, Great-Grand Pa, uncle, friend, and colleague.
He died peacefully at age 83, at home with his devoted wife and family members by his side, on December 21,
2023. Words cannot express how much he was loved, respected, and admired, and will be missed.
Charlie was born the eldest of three sons to Viola and Urban (Sparks) Baker on November 29, 1940, in Boonville, Mo. He attended the University of Missouri in Columbia, where he earned a law degree. Charlie was the president of his 1960 pledge class, and social chair for Phi Kappa Theta fraternity.
During his early college years, he met and fell in love with Nancy Jewell Lowe, from Prattsville, Ark. They were married on July 15, 1960, and their union of love flourished over seven decades. Charlie and Nancy simply loved spending their time together, whether that was during their adventurous travels abroad, or at home, where they considered it a privilege to lovingly care for each other.
During law school, Charlie was on Law Review, the Dean’s list, and graduated tenth in his class. In 1965, Charlie and Nancy moved to Kansas City, Mo., where Charlie joined his first private law firm. To be closer to family, Charlie and Nancy relocated to Little Rock, Ark., in 1968, where Charlie’s professional law career prospered over the next five decades.
Charlie served as a Federal Bankruptcy Judge from 1973 through 1984. When he was appointed at age 32, he was the youngest in the nation to hold that position. His most famous case involved Missouri farmer Wayne Cryts, who led a raid on a bankrupt grain elevator in the early 1980’s. Despite a defense by the famous attorney, F. Lee Bailey, Charlie sent Cryts to jail for contempt of court for 34 days.
In 1984, Charlie joined the Rose Law Firm, where he was later honored as one of the “Best Lawyers in American Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law.” He retired at age 60 in 2000.
Charlie was a life-long Catholic, and his family attended Our Lady of the Holy Souls in Little Rock. He was active in the church choir for over 50 years. He was also in the Men’s Club, the Knights of Columbus, the Serra Club, and Kiwanis Club. He raised money for the Msgr. Allen Exceptional School, taught religion classes, enjoyed taking communion to patients at UAMS, and was a passionate supporter of women’s ordination. Charlie did not merely read about Jesus’s teachings; he lived them. He worked to shelter, feed, and clothe the homeless (locally and from Vietnam, Iran, and New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina). He visited the imprisoned, fought to end the death penalty, and worked for peace and understanding by entertaining a myriad of international guests and hosting visitors through Servas International. In 2019, Charlie was chosen to receive the Saint Cecilia Award and the Saint Thomas More Award, recognizing his lifelong Catholic service in the fields of music and law.
Charlie was fascinated by politics. He worked tirelessly on Ray Thornton’s winning Attorney General election in 1970, and on his later House and Senate races. In 1972, he managed Sen. John McClellan’s state-wide campaign office in Little Rock. Charlie was an alternate delegate to the Democratic Convention in 1972, and attended President Carter’s Convention in 1976. He and Nancy attended President Clinton’s inauguration in D.C., as well as the Clinton’s first Christmas party in the White House, and the celebration for Hillary’s 50th birthday.
Because of his great sense of political humor and his impressive singing voice, Charlie enjoyed playing many different roles in the satirical musical production, the Gridiron Show, sponsored by the Arkansas Bar Association, playing Dale Bumpers for a number of years.
In his younger years, Charlie enjoyed handball, tennis, canoeing, church softball, and both water and snow skiing. Duck hunting was his passion!
In their 40s, Charlie and Nancy began traveling the world, exploring 36 countries on four continents. In 2008, they fulfilled Charlie’s life-long dream by living abroad in Paris, France, for six months.
When asked about his proudest accomplishment in life, Charlie immediately said: His five happy and successful grown children (now ages 52 to 61). And his best deeds? Sponsoring a six-member family from Vietnam in 1975, hosting a French foreign exchange student in 1983, and resettling a displaced Hurricane Katrina victim.
Charlie was preceded in death by his parents, Viola and Urban Baker; step-father, David Riley; and sister-in-law, Natalie Baker. Charlie’s legacy lives on in his wife of 62 years, Nancy Jewell Lowe Baker; his brothers, Robert Baker (Carol) and Michael Baker (Lois); and his five children: Julie Menke (Paul), Betsy Eliason (Scott), Troy Baker (Kim), Susan Baker, John Baker (Kristine); and his French daughter and former exchange student, Anne Gabrielle Barbelivien. He delighted in his fifteen grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.
Visitation starts at 11 a.m. on Thursday, December 28, 2023 at Our Lady of the Holy Souls Catholic Church in Little Rock, with a funeral Mass at noon, followed by a private burial. Memorials should be directed to the Arkansas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, P.O. Box 26642, Little Rock, Ark. 72221. Arrangements are under the direction of RuebelFuneralHome.com.