James Pray Baker ’47

Porky Baker died Sept. 21, 1996. He had lived in Warrenton, Va., since 1957. At Princeton he majored in biology. Upon graduating in 1949, he entered NYU's College of Medicine, earning his MD in 1949. During the Korean War he was called into service as a Navy doctor "on loan" to the Army and assigned to the 999th Armored Field Artillery Battalion. Under constant enemy fire, his unit evacuated wounded soldiers from combat zones.

After his release from the Navy, Porky began his residency in surgery at the U. of Virginia Hospital. In 1956 he received an MS in surgery from the UVA, and in 1967 he was made a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He enjoyed a busy career, which included work in pain control and the medical problems of the elderly. He was a general partner in the Warrenton Nursing Home Limited Partnership and chairman of the board of Ecosystems Research Corp. He also conducted seminars in drug education and practiced sports medicine for local schools.

He found time to indulge his enthusiasm for foxhunting and recreational riding, horse shows, and steeplechase race meets.

In 1947 Porky married Barbara Reynolds. To her and to their children, Lundy Updike, Susan Baker, Sarah Muncy, and James Jr., the class extends its profound sympathy.

The Class of 1947