Glenn A. Baker

Glenn A. Baker, 80, passed away on Friday, Aug. 9, 2013.

He was born in Plymouth, Ind., on July 23, 1933 to Glenn L. and E. Faye (Pippenger) Baker. He graduated from Lapaz High School in 1951. In high school he played basketball and in his senior year, he made the buzzer beater that let Lapaz win the sectional and go to state.

Glenn went to Purdue for a year and a half, and didn't care for that, so he worked at Studebaker in South Bend until he was drafted into the Army in August 1954, with his honorable discharge in 1956.

Glenn married Nora Tellkamp, a farm gal from Tyner, a rival school, in 1954. She was his bookkeeper through his business ventures and she survives.

After the army he tried several jobs, including several months on the family farm to see if he would take it over. Milking those cows every morning and every night just wasn't something he could see himself doing for the rest of his life.

A friend of the family who was a game warden (conservation officer now) told him about a job with the Indiana Fish and Game (now the Indiana Department of Natural Recourses.). Glenn applied for and got the job, so working with/for the IDNR would be his and his family's life for the next 20 plus years.

He returned to Purdue University in 1958, with a wife and three children, to graduate in 1964 with a BS in wildlife biology from the School of Agriculture. A job as manager of the Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area was ready for him upon graduation.

After 20 plus years with the IDNR he decided to retire in 1978. At that time he was assistant director of the Indiana State Parks and Recreation Areas and with his family had lived on a farm, in the country outside Greencastle, for seven years.

Glenn heard about a trash removal business that was for sale, and bought it. The following year he bought the old Greencastle Salvage Yard and another trash removal route, which became known as Baker's Remove-All, Inc.

When the Putnam County Landfill closed, Glenn & Nora bought land on which to build a transfer station near Greencastle (The Clean Dump). In a couple years, with the blessings of Mayor Harmless and the City of Greencastle, he added the recycling center. After selling the trash removal/recycling business in 1990, he was not ready to sit in the recliner chair just yet, so he did some excavating, which turned into adding a septic pumping truck and that was the beginning of the eventual Baker's Septic and Porta-let Services, Inc., with son Steve. With health problems that started in '07, he again retired in 2010, selling his half of the business to Steve.

Wanting to keep in touch with Natural Resources, when the state approved the sale of the triploid White Amur (Grass Carp/Algae Eaters ), Glenn got a permit to transport and sell the fish to pond owners. By doing this, it would keep chemicals from polluting the waters and keep the ponds clear of algae and most weeds. He enjoyed meeting with the people and helping them with something that he really believed in.

Glenn was appointed to the Indiana Heritage Trust Committee by Governors Joseph Kernan and Mitch Daniels. He was a Cub Scout leader in the '60s and a member of the Purdue Club of Putnam County. He was on the Little Walnut Creek board, past chairman of Ducks Unlimited, member of Quails Unlimited, Greencastle Rotary Club and Indiana Sportsman's Roundtable.

Glenn always enjoyed hunting mushrooms and deer, along with fishing and growing a big garden to preserve and share with family, friends and neighbors.

Survivors include his wife; their four children Steve (Diana Fowler) Baker with daughter Crystal (Daryl) Boswell of Greencastle, Roger (Sandy Parker) Baker with daughters Christal (Derick) Schultz and Stephanie (Scott) Bustamonte of California, Cheryl (Carl) Spencer with daughters Jessica (Justin) Saucerman of Greencastle and Katie of Fairland, Tammy (Gilberto) Perez and children Nathan and Lumari of Texas; two great-grandchildren; one great-great granddaughter; his brother David (Louise) Baker; sister-in-law Bev (Jim) Harper; several nieces; a nephew; and a Rotary exchange student/daughter from the early '80s, Ako Mammoto (Jamie) Wall of Greencastle.

A celebration of Glenn's life will be held at a later date.

In charge of arrangements is the Bittles and Hurt Funeral Home.

In lieu of floral arrangements, memorials in Glenn's name may be made to his favorite charity: Indiana Heritage Trust Memorial Fund, (which buys parcels of land, in Indiana, for the public to use), IDNR Executive Office, 402 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204 or the charity of your choice.

Glenn's family wishes to thank Hendricks Regional Hospital, Hickory Creek Healthcare (for rehabilitation and therapy), Putnam County Hospital and St.Vincent Hospital for all their excellent medical and caring assistance in his final days.

He appreciated the visits of friends and relatives that helped him pass the time, as well.