Thomas Carr Baker “Tom” was born 1938 in Winchester to the late Mary Sullivan Baker and Charles B. Baker. He graduated in 1956 from Handley High School where he was president of his class. He went on to attend Virginia Tech graduating in 1960 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. On August 5, 1961, Tom married Sheila Fries, his high school sweetheart. He worked for Westinghouse doing the electrical work for the submarine USS Ethan Allen. Tom and Sheila returned to Winchester in 1963 working with his father in the electrical contracting firm, Baker & Anderson. A few years after the death of his father, Tom moved into real estate development , building residential homes. He later established storage and warehouse units around Winchester. Tom sold his warehouse business in 1996 and was able to retire.
In November 1976, Tom and Sheila lost their eldest daughter Julie from lymphoma. A few years after Julie’s passing, Sheila found a magazine article about a man in New York state who started a camp for his daughter with cancer after she was turned down to attend regular camp. Tom decided he wanted to do the same for other children with cancer. After Sheila and Tom visited that camp, they found a location to have a camp locally, and secured medical backing. In August 1983, the first Camp Fantastic was held at the 4-H Center in Front Royal with 30 children. Now, there are 100 children with cancer attending camp each summer along with a separate camp experience for brothers and sisters.
Later, Tom and Sheila donated their first home and the land it was on to create the Youth Development Center for the youth of the Winchester area. In the following years, Tom was awarded many special medals and awards for his accomplishments, including one of the Washingtonians of the Year and other prized local awards. In addition, Tom was a member of the Rotary Club for over 45 years serving one year as president.
In addition to his daughter, Tom was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Reggie. Besides Sheila, his wife of 56 years, Tom is survived by his son Mark Baker (Sonja) of Glen Allen, Virginia, and his daughter Katie Wooten (Aaron) of Kill Devil Hills, NC; his eight wonderful grandchildren, Valerie Zhou (Tian), Matthew Baker (Kathryn), Amanda Masroori (Mohsen), April Baker, Zachary Baker, Cassidy Baker, Olivia Baker, and Julien Wooten, as well as his sister Betsy Fisher (Gene) and four nephews and nieces.
A visitation will be held at Omps Funeral Home on Amherst Street on Tuesday from 3-5 pm and from 6-8 pm. A funeral Mass will be held Wednesday at 11 am at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in memory of Tom can be made to Special Love, Inc. (http://specialove.org) 117 Youth Development Ct., Winchester, VA 22602, or to Youth Development Center, Inc. (https://www.myydc.org) 3 Battaile Drive, Winchester, VA 22601.