Obituary: Edward Baker, 68, Ludington

Edward Baker

Obituary: Edward Baker, 68, Ludington

Edward Frank Baker “Seven Crown”, age 68, of Ludington passed away Friday, October 20, 2017 after a courageous 5- year battle with brain cancer, related to Agent Orange.

He was born May 3, 1949 in Ludington to Victor and Adella (Willavage) Baker. He was raised on the family farm in Custer.  Ed graduated from Mason County Eastern in 1967. During his youth, Ed worked as a skate boy at Johnny’s of Custer, where he met many celebrities. Ed attended Lansing Community College where he got his certification in truck driving.

He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served his country from September 25, 1968 to April 24, 1970, serving in Vietnam during most of his military career. He was a member of the Whiskey Battery 1st BN 11th Marines.

On March 22, 1975, Ed married the love of his life, Sheryl Leone Lemke in Ludington. Together they raised two children, Krystal and Kevin.

Ed was a truck driver for 42 years. He retired from USF Holland in 2011, which was his dream job. He worked for several other companies before starting at USF Holland. He was a member of Teamsters Local 406 for 32 years. He was well known by his CB handle Seven Crown.

Ed was an active member for 47 years with the American Legion Post 76 and the Custer VFW Post 5096. He was also a member of the NRA and the Long Guns Riffle Club in Hart. Ed was a supporter of the Great Lakes Wind Energy Park (Consumers), and he and Sheryl were proud to have a windmill on their property.

He enjoyed bowling, target shooting, shooting pool, and dancing with his wife.  He also loved mowing his 10 acre “yard” and driving the Kubota or four wheeler. Ed loved to travel with his wife. His favorite spot was always Walt Disney World and Universal Studios.  He also loved visiting with his truck driver buddies and playing with the grandkids.

Ed will be greatly missed by his loving wife of 42 years, Sheryl; his children: Krystal Lee Baker-Roebuck of Wyoming, Mich. and Kevin Edward (Jody Kreiss) Baker of Grandville; grandchildren: Jessie, Jessica (Ben), Tiffani (Alex), Bailey, Jocelyn, and Savanna; three great grandchildren: Sage, Avery, and Elliott; four siblings: Sharon (James Johnstone) Myers, Bruce (Deborah) Baker, Allen (Nadine Hawkins) Baker, and Pamela (Mike Traeger) Zygutis; sister-in-law: Cindy Lemke, brother-in-law: Rick Lemke, beloved friend MSG Jerome E. Roebuck serving in Iraq, many nieces, nephews, aunts, and uncles, and beloved cats Socks and George.

Besides his parents, Ed was preceded in death by his mother and father-in-law Clyde and Marjorie (Smith) Lemke.

A visitation will be held Wednesday, October 25, 2017 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Oak Grove Funeral Home in Ludington. A funeral will be held Thursday, October 26, 2017 at 11 a.m. also at the funeral home with visitation one hour prior. Burial and military honors will take place immediately following the service at Lakeview Cemetery in Ludington.

The family requests that casual attire be worn for both the visitation and the funeral.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Oak Grove Funeral Home and Cremation Center of Ludington.