Brendan Baker

Thought Of Others First

Brendan Baker, 40, of Sandy Hook, died on December 21.

Mr Baker was born on April 14, 1969. He was the husband of Micheline Baker. He is also survived by his mother and stepfather, Linda and John Nericcio of Manchester; a sister, Michelle Smith-Brown of Windsor Locks, and her four children; and two additional sisters, Rebecca Higgins and Erin Hammerly.

Mr Baker was a 1987 graduate of Staples High School in Westport. He joined the Navy after high school and served in the Gulf War.

Mr Baker was a programmer by trade, loved computer rendering as a charitable sideline (the profits of which went to children’s organizations and canine advocacy groups), and had a wicked sense of humor.

He also loved flying and photography. Mr Baker will be remembered by many Newtown and Sandy Hook residents as the local power parachute enthusiast who, until sidelined by health concerns about a year ago, was often seen hovering over the town in his flying machine, which was described by The Bee shortly after its debut in May 2003 as something that “looks like a go-cart with the fan of a swamp boat attached to the back and a parachute over the top.”

Photographs shot by Mr Baker from his power parachute often supplemented articles printed in The Newtown Bee, and a large number of his images from the air were included in the tercentennial publication Newtown 2005: The Way We Are After 300 Years. His shot of the Castle Hill Farm cornfield maze was an easy choice by the book’s editors to use as the cover shot of that publication.

“His reach was so far,” his wife Micheline said this week. “He loved making other people happy, and he didn’t worry about the cost. If he saw someone who needed help, he thought of them first, and our mortgage payments later.

“Happiness for him came from within. Simple things made him very happy,” she said.

Mr Baker was predeceased by his father, Harold Rene Baker.

In addition to family members and countless friends, Mr Baker is survived by the four latest dogs he and his wife shared their home with: Ellie, Truman, Murphy, and Nixon (during their 13-year marriage, the Bakers have been parents to seven dogs). Ellie, who was Brendan’s “baby,” followed her father’s casket down the aisle of the church on Tuesday morning during his funeral, saying her final goodbye.

A wake was hosted by Honan Funeral Home on Monday, December 28, and a Mass of Christian Burial, officiated by Monsignor Robert Weiss, was conducted at St Rose of Lima the following morning.

Donations in Mr Baker’s memory can be made to Boys & Girls Village, Inc, 528 Wheelers Farm Road, Milford CT 06461 (203-877-0300 or BGVillage.org for additional information).

The Newtown Bee        January 1, 2010