Mary Ruth Middleton Simmons - Wife of David Simmons - Daughter In-Law of Hertha Baker Simmons

Mary Ruth (Middleton) Simmons

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Mary Ruth (Middleton) Simmons, born April 7, 1925 in Waldorf, MD, departed this life on September 24, 2017 at Harvest, Alabama. She was the youngest daughter of the late Henry Dyer and Bertha Evelyn (Cooke) Middleton.

She attended St. Mary’s school, Bryantown, Waldorf Elementary and La Plata High School where she graduated as Valedictorian of the Class of 1942. In 1943 she married her childhood sweetheart, David Martin Simmons of Waldorf, in the chapel at Bolling AF Base, Washington where she was employed and he was stationed. In 1971 they moved to Montgomery, Alabama when her civilian job as computer systems analyst with USAF was transferred to Gunter AF Station in Montgomery. David obtained employment as a Parks Inspector with the Alabama Department of Conversation.

In early 1982, she transferred to Andrews AF Base, Maryland, to care for her older brother, Blair Middleton, Washington, DC. She retired in 1985 as supervisory computer systems analyst employed at Andrews Air Base , Maryland and returned to Montgomery where they enjoyed their dancing hobby until David died in 2010. She then lived with her daughter, Carol, in Harvest, Alabama.

In addition to her parents and husband, Mrs. Simmons was preceded in death by sons Robert Michael and David Martin Jr., granddaughter Julia Simmons Fabula.

She is survived by sons Thomas Wayne (Joan Slade) Simmons Callaway, MD, Frank Paul (Ann Harris) Simmons, Mechanicsville, MD, John Edward (Paige Kibble) Simmons, Wildwood, GA; daughter Carol Ann Simmons, Harvest, AL; daughters-in-law Rosmund Hart Simmons and Kay Gardiner Simmons; 13 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren.

Visitation on Wednesday, October 4, 2017 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Raymond Funeral Service, P.A. 5635 Washington Avenue La Plata, MD 20646.

Mass 9:30 a.m. Thursday, October 5, 2017 at St. Peter’s Catholic Church 3320 St. Peter’s Church Road Waldorf, MD 20601.

Interment to follow at Cheltenham Veterans Cemetery.

Contributions may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place Memphis, TN 38105.

Earl and Maida Baker

Maida Louise Miller Baker was born October 29, 1919, thirteen minutes after her twin sister, Aida. The sisters were close all their lives. Maida passed away March 2, 2012 at the Inn at Orchard Park where she made her home that past two years.

Mom’s parents were Leslie and Sarah Miller. She outlived all her siblings, Mattie Miller, Alex Miller, Lillian Bunn, Aida Auck, Philena Frankenfield, and Leslie Miller.

Mom was born near Claridon, Ohio. Grandpa Miller farmed on the shares and the family moved quite often, and even though they moved frequently Mom said that her parents always kept the places neat and clean. They didn’t have much money but the family never went hungry, and they always felt their parents’ love.

Mom could remember going to school at Prospect, (where she started first grade), Unionville (near Marysville), Morral, Marion, Nevada, Sulphur Springs, Mount Zion and Lykens. Grandpa and Grandma moved to the Shelby settlement and since there wasn’t any bus to the Shelby schools, Mom and Aida didn’t go to school between their sophomore and junior years. Grandpa and Grandma moved to the Lykens area and Mom and Aida were able to complete their schooling, graduating in 1939. Mom was always proud of being able to graduate from high school. It was the time of the Great Depression and many young people dropped out of school to help their families. Mom, Aida, and good friend Winnie La Rue McCurdy , played on the girls’ basketball team. Winnie and Mom remained life-long friends as they married men whose farms were “across the road”.

When Mom was a young girl, she hired out in the summer. Her first job was with a lady in Nevada. The woman tried to pay Mom with used clothes instead of money. Mom threw the clothes down and walked away. She never got an allowance. Terribly near-sighted, she didn’t get her first pair of glasses until she was about 12 years old and she had earned enough money. Until then the teachers allowed her to sit close to the chalkboard.

Just think of the changes Mom experienced in her lifetime: horse and wagon to cars; laundry by washboard, to wringers, to automatics; ice boxes to refrigerators and freezers; letters to telephone to computers ; coal and wood stoves to gas furnaces and air conditioning; coal oil lamps to electric lights; radio to black and white TV to remote controlled HDTV. But some things remained a constant in her life. She was loved, she was loving, and she maintained a deep faith in God.

When Mom was helping out at Daisy Baker’s home on what is now Stetzer Road, Daisy’s young brother-in-law remarked on how he thought the neighbor girl was “kind of cute”. Daisy encouraged him to ask her out and that is how Earl Baker and Maida Miller started their courtship. They were married November 20, 1940. They lived in Bucyrus for a few years and then moved “out to the farm”. Pop Baker lived with them. In 1942, Dad received his draft notice. He entered Army training in August. Mom joined him at Camp Grant , Illinois and at Fort Smith, Arkansas. He was sent to Iran in the spring of 1943. Mom did not see him again until his discharge November 25, 1945. There were no computers, Skype, cell phones. The only way of communication was by letter and an occasional telegraph. Mom lived at the farm but also stayed quite a bit with Lillian and Dale in Bucyrus. It was Lillian who took her to the hospital when Dan was born, Oct. 30, 1943. I think Grandpa Baker sent a wire to Dad to tell him “It is a boy”.

After Dad returned home, Mom and he set about creating a home on the farm. Dad also had to work in factories to try to pay the bills. Bonnie was born December 23, 1946; Colleen , December 26, 1953; Sam, June 3, 1958. Money was tight and there was dissension, but even at that we knew that our mother’s love and care was always there for us. She kissed our booboo’s, cared for us when we were sick, told us stories, enjoyed the company of our friends, etc. She would get cross with us but the anger never lasted. She made sure we went to church and Sunday School. She made sure we went to the dentist, the eye doctor, and wore good shoes.

When Mom and Dad moved to Hopley Avenue in 1970, Mom’s life took a change. She began wearing slacks instead of house dresses. She started cleaning homes for various people. What was part time turned into almost full time. She enjoyed interacting with her “people” and if some were just too fussy, she found others willing to hire. She worked until she was 76. During the 70’s and 80’s , Mom and Dad enjoyed time to travel, to help with Colleen’s junior prom, to go to Sam’s football games, and time to enjoy the grandchildren who were coming into their lives. Jenny, Jon, Melissa, Mark, Matt, Brittney, and Todd were much loved. Mom appreciated that somewhere in them was a part of her. When she filled out a questionnaire that Colleen had given her, this is the advice she had for her grandchildren: “Go to church if you can, obey the Ten Commandments, love nature and always think of your parents, even if you are far away.”

March 27, 1987, the love of her life passed away, and Mom became a widow. She continued to live on her own until the spring of 2008. It was during these years that I drew very close to my mom. We spent one day a week getting groceries, going for rides, and eating lunch. We talked about the old days, the problems and the joys that each member of the family were experiencing. We compared the events happening at our churches, listened to music, etc. I am so thankful for those days.

When the difficult decision was made for Mom to move to Fairview Manor, it was just downright sad. But Mom , being her sweet self, won the hearts of the staff and settled in. Then she was moved to Orchard Park, and there again she won the hearts of the staff. To many she was “Miss Maida”. About a year ago, she and I were talking of the hard changes the past few years. I said, “Mom you just cope so well with what comes along.” She replied, “I was born to cope”. And that explains so much of her character----coping, putting others’ needs ahead of her own, being polite. Even in her last days she was saying “thank you”.

I am thankful that we were able to spend time with Mom as she slowly slipped from this life to the next. Yes, it was painful and sad but there was something so intimate, personal , and beautiful for each of us as we said our goodbyes. And so dear mother-- your morning has broken and you are a part of the infinite heavens.

Children of Dean and Maida Baker

Dan Baker, Oct. 30, 1942;  Bonnie Baker Hildebrand, Dec. 23, 1946;  Colleen Baker Jackson,  Dec. 26, 1953;  Sam Baker,  June 3, 1958.

Dan lives near West Lafayette, Indiana;  Colleen lives in Hayesville, OH; and Sam lives in Dyersburg, TN.

This picture was taken January, 2017.  The only time we four siblings were able to get together so far this year.

Dean Baker

Dean and Naomi Baker

Written by his daughter Deana Detweiler,  August 2017

My dad, Dean Baker, was a twin to Don Baker. They were the second set of twins born to Vernon and Sadie on the farm west of New Winchester. Don was a few minutes older than Dean, and he grew taller than Dean.

But they were always close, and Dad made up for his lack of height with a big personality that was a bit hyperactive and feisty. Whenever Don got into a fight Dean always jumped in to help.  He loved to fight, proudly sharing that he boxed in the golden gloves competition in the Navy.

Dean attended school at Kirkpatrick through the 11th grade. He then lived with Frank and Wyona (his sister) Furniss in Morral to complete high school and graduate. Frank said Dean was a good student but was a typical boy who didn’t apply himself to school work to achieve his capabilities. But he achieved above average grades apparently without much effort.

As a graduation gift, Grandpa Vernon sent Dean, Don, and Robert on a train trip across the United States circling up through the northern US then down through California and back home via the southern route.

Dean and his brothers “batched” it at the old farmhouse when their parents moved to Marion. Dad became a fastidious house cleaner, later teaching his kids how to clean thoroughly in every room in the house.

In high school, Dean had been an excellent basketball player despite his shortness as he had quickness and speed. During those intra-county competitions, he met another good basketball player, Naomi Cook. They married in 1939 in Greenup, Kentucky.

As was common in those days. Dean and Naomi lived with his parents in Marion for a time. He applied for a job on the Erie Railroad where his dad and Robert worked. After studying Morse Code he was hired on as an operator and later moved into a dispatcher position.

Dean and his brothers avoided the World War II draft for a few years, but they eventually all served—in different branches of the armed forces. Dad chose the Navy. He was tested in boot camp and qualified by the Navy to attend college for some courses at Northwestern University.

Stationed on a destroyer --in the radio room because of his knowledge of Morse Code—he saw kamikazes and other action during this time. During his service, he kept a diary of the most intense days that described how scared he and the other men were when they were getting closer to the attack on Tokyo.

Mom was pregnant for me when Dad left for the service. So she and Ron, my older brother, moved to Waldo to live with her parents. I was born during that time and was almost a year old when my Dad came home. Evidently, I was afraid of this strange man and crawled behind the couch when I saw him. I’m sure that was hard to take!

Dean and Naomi then moved to Marion after using the GI Bill to help them purchase a home in Oakland Heights.

Dad went back to the Erie Railroad and eventually worked his way up to chief dispatcher. He worked a split shift—first shift on Friday and Saturday, second shift on Sunday and Monday, and third shift on Tuesday. This work schedule had to have an effect on his health. It certainly made his family life different. With our school schedules, we often didn’t see him for days at a time.

Naomi was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1959. Dad didn’t let her give up. He kept her going with traveling and supporting her to not let self-pity take over. But it had to be a stress in his life as he took on much of the household responsibilities when Naomi was too tired to keep up.

Some of my best memories are of vacationing every summer at Lake Erie where we rented a cottage next to Lakeside. Dean and his brothers bought a speedboat together that doubled as a fishing boat and a ski boat. We spent a week in August every year with Robert and Emma and their kids enjoying the fishing, the beach at East Harbor, and the tasty fish fries from the day’s catch of perch. Yum!

After Dean’s retirement in the mid 70’s they sold their home, moved to Pleasant Acres MHP, and bought a travel trailer. They traveled to Arizona to visit Carl and Virginia (his sister) Ralston and other places out west. They spent winters in Florida, too, buying a mobile home in Port Charlotte to be near Naomi’s parents who wintered in Punta Gorda.

In 1987 Dean had experienced extreme fatigue and was diagnosed with aortic stenosis. He had a valve replacement surgery and recovered very well. However, in the early 90’s he began showing signs of memory loss (as Sadie, his mom, had). The trips to Florida had to stop as he was not able to remember how to get places.

When Naomi had to be hospitalized for a perforated ulcer in ’95 it became apparent how much Dean had declined mentally and he was placed in an Alzheimer’s care unit for his and Naomi’s safety. He died there in 1997. Naomi died in 2009 after ten years in Marion Manor.

He is remembered as a strong father with strong family values. I was at times wary of his stern discipline and temper. However, he was quick with praise and affection, too, always expressing pride in his kids.