LaDonna J. Baker

LaDonna J. Baker went to be with her savior June 4,2022. LaDonna was born to Willie and Amy Huff September 19, 1928 in Concordia, Kansas. She had one sister Leatrice Joy 4 years younger than her.  She lost her Mother when she was 4 ½ years old.  When she was 15 her father remarried and through the years, she gained 6 half-brothers.   When she was 18, she worked nights at the Arrowhead Hotel on the switchboard and days as a bookkeeper for Edward Hines Lumber Company in Burns, Oregon.  This is where she met her future husband Rollin Baker. LaDonna and Rollin were married in a bank at 2:00 in the morning on July 4, 1948 in Winnemucca, Nevada.  They had a flat tire and didn’t make it to the church on time.  With them were newlyweds Julio and Jo Urizer. They moved to the Whitehorse Ranch in Harney County where Rollin was Buckaroo Boss. Two years later they started their family. In 1954 they moved with their two daughters to Paulina, Oregon and Rollin managed ranches for John and Florene Hudspeth and LaDonna did payroll and bookkeeping.  In Prineville, Oregon she was receptionist and bookkeeper for Pine Products.  She flourished when she went to work for the U.S. Forest Service from 1972 to 1996 in Boise, Idaho.  She enjoyed various jobs at the Forest Service, but she especially enjoyed being admistrator of SBA (Small Businesses Association).  She thoroughly enjoyed helping small businesses get off to an efficient, competent start for success. When she retired in 1996 the Forest Service had a big celebration for her.
LaDonna had a warm smile and outgoing personality and was much loved.  She is well known for being stylish, a skilled seamstress, her beautiful flowers, and an immaculately decorated home. 
She enjoyed being a member of the Pau Mau Club in Paulina, Oregon, WEMS and with a SBA grant she helped open the Boise Women’s Business Center in Boise, Idaho.
She is survived by daughters, Cheryl (Gary) Ervin, Debra (James) Hoffman, plus grandchildren, BreAnn (Dax) Borgaard, Garet (Alicia) Ervin, Rollin (Caroline) Ervin, Jacob Hoffman, Jacey (Bill) Brown, nieces Paulette Berkland, Roberta Zimmer, nephews Keith (Gaye) Davis, James (Robin) Elliot, and dear friends Thelma Lee and Anita Burk, plus eight great grandchildren, Isaiah, Emmett, Riley, Dashel, Mercy, Stetson, Owen, and Bode.
She was predeceased by husband Rollin, married 69 years, her mother, father, sister Leatrice Joy, several half-brothers, favorite aunts Josephine and Adalene, favorite cousin LaVerda.
A memorial will be July 9, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. at Calvary Baptist Church in Prineville, Oregon (by cemetery).  2241 N. Main Street, Prineville, Oregon.  Refreshments to follow at the church.  
The family wishes to thank Hospice and Regency Village in Redmond for the wonderful care they gave our mom and Grandmother.  In lieu of flowers, consider making a donation to Hospice. 

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