Johnny Wayne Baker

Johnny Wayne Baker, son of the late John Preston and Marguerite (Laing) Baker, was born Nov. 3, 1940, in Bastrop, La. He went to his home in Heaven on Feb. 16, 2025, at the Missouri Veterans Home in St. James, at the age of 84. Following high school, Johnny enlisted in the United States Army serving faithfully for 20 years. He served as a medic, NCO, and acting Field First Sergeant during the Vietnam and Cold Wars. He retired in 1980 with the rank of SFC E-7. During the early years of his Army career, Johnny found the love of his life and was united in marriage to Mary Ann Willis on June 11, 1965, in Fort Worth, Texas. Two children were born to this union, Marilyn and Donald. Johnny lived life to the fullest. He had a good sense of humor and loved talking to people. He also enjoyed fishing, camping, and traveling. He had completed his bucket list of visiting each of the fifty States of the United States of America. He was also a world traveler spending about ten years in the mission field, spreading the Gospel in areas of Russia, China, Uganda, Kuwait and Honduras. He also liked wood working and growing succulents. Johnny’s greatest joy in life was having fun with people, especially his family.
Besides his parents, Johnny was preceded in death by his son, Donald Wayne Baker; his brother, Alfred Baker; and his sister, Shirley Baker-Anders. Johnny is survived by his loving wife of nearly sixty years, Mary Baker; daughter, Marilyn Coffman and husband, Doyle; six grandchildren, Lance Coffman and wife, Sara, Kori Smith and husband, Jared, Erin Smart, Kevin Coffman and wife, Michelle, Micah Taylor and wife, Charlene, and Grant Coffman and wife, Emily; 19 great-grandchildren “yep, the number is correct,” Les, Leo, Isaac, Jonah, Levi, Grace, Philip, Nathaniel, Allison, Elizabeth, Makenzie, Gabriel, Santiago, Xavier, Autumn, Taz, Ulysses, Oscar and Eliot; two sisters, Elaine Francis-Alexander and Nadine Houston, and husband, Doug; and many other relatives and friends who will miss him greatly. Visitation for Johnny Baker will be held from 9:30-10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in the Craig-Hurtt Funeral Home of Mountain Grove. Graveside services will follow at 11 a.m. in the Willow Springs Cemetery, Mountain Grove, with Pastor Doyle Coffman officiating. Lance Coffman, Grant Coffman, Micah Taylor, Kevin Coffman, Jared Smith, Glen French, and Doug Houston will serve as pallbearers. Special songs will be “Go Rest High On That Mountain” and “Amazing Grace.” Burial with full military honors will be in the Willow Springs Cemetery under the direction of the Craig-Hurtt Funeral Home of Mountain Grove. Online condolences: www.craighurttfuneralhome.com.