Benjamin Lawrence “Larry” Baker.

I’m not going to be able to post a full article but I just wanted to stop and talk about one of the unconfirmed victims families:

In 1974, Brenda Joy Baker was 14 when she was found brutally murdered in Pierce County, WA. Her older brother Benjamin Lawrence “Larry” Baker. (below) was born December 4, 1956 and passed away at 25 in 1982. Brenda’s younger brother was born in 1960 and sadly only lived until he was 21.

I’m re-watching Primes ‘Falling for a Killer,’ and listening to Lynda Ann Healy’s sister speak about how Bundy’s actions had lifelong effects on her family made me think of the Baker family. On top of losing their daughter (murder is such a senseless act), they also experienced two other very early losses; no parent should have to bury their children, and they buried all three. Some people are just born with tragedy in their blood.

Benjamin Baker.

Mom.

(From July 12, 2022):

My Mom passed away today. She was sick for almost six years, she’s finally at peace. Here’s some pictures of her in the late 60’s/ early 70’s. I couldn’t find any with her hair down.

My grandparents on their wedding day.
A picture of my grandparents on their wedding day along with thgeir wedding party.
My mom standing in front of her childhood home on the day of her first communion.
My Mom on the day of her first holy communion standing with my grandma and grandpa.
My mom holding one of her cats in her St, Mary’s uniform.
My mom standing with the car she would later take on her honeymoon with my dad.
Classic hippie garb.
Mom sunning with one of her cats.
My mom standing in front of her childhood home.
My mom with her grandparents.
My mom on the day of her high school graduation.
My mom in her softball uniform.
My mom in July 1971.
My moms senior picture.
My mom on the day of her high school graduation.
My parents before they were married.

Mom & Dad.

Oh my Gosh look at the waves in my Dad’s hair! It’s got to be a 70’s thing.

I found myself watching him a lot today. For 46 years he was always part of a unit, and now he’s by himself. Going from the funeral home to my Aunts house for dinner earlier he asked my niece to drive with him, and typical kid she kind of sighed about it (the 30 foot walk from her Moms car to his was a tough one, I’ll admit) so I just went with him. I was grateful to have some one on one time with him, just the two of us. I found myself not wanting to leave him. I even thought about skipping my husband’s soccer game to spend more time with him. But I can’t be around him 24 hours a day. Charlie’s like, almost been standing guard over me and the hovering has been driving me a bit mad. But I know it’s done out of love.

Dying is a part of life. I firmly believe that. Going through pictures yesterday I found a little saying from an old Mary Englebrite calender glued onto one of my baby pictures. It said, ‘a baby is God’s way of saying life goes on.’ I thought that was fitting, especially since we’ve been trying to start a family. She’s still here, living on through me. And my sister and niece. She was wonderful.

Mom – Graduation Day.

This is my Mom the day of her high school graduation. I can see the happiness and excitement about life in her eyes. Now she’s gone. At the end of her funeral my Dad carried her box of ashes to the back of the church. In 1978 they took the same walk together down the same isle when they got married. But todays journey had a completely different meaning. Life is so short, and so precious. And it’s moving really, really fast. She would have wanted me to live it up, and do as much as I can in the years I have left.

Grandma/Grandpa Letters from Korea.

This will be the last post about my family, I promise. I’m almost done with my piece on Brenda Ball. I’m incredibly behind on my ASL class and I’m dreading checking my email (I’m putting it off until tomorrow morning). Anyways, these are some really neat old love letters my Grandfather sent to my Gram during the Korean War. They were a little older when they got married in 1954 (she was 32 AND two years older than him!), and I’ve always admired that my Gram waited for the right person. She didn’t marry the first attractive guy who looked her way. She’d always tell me not to commit to just one fellow and to date around… and she did, she’d date a few guys at once and not think anything of it. My Grandma had this classic, ol’ timey beauty to her that you don’t see often anymore, and my Grandfather looked like he had a really great sense of humor (he died when my Mom was 11). When I asked my Mom to tell me about her Dad, she said she remembers ‘a lot of giggling in the other room before bed.’ He loved to make her laugh. After he passed away she never had any interest in remarrying, or even dating. My Mom said Grandpa was her one great love and he was it. She wasn’t interested in anyone else. Whats strange is I feel the same way about my husband. All I ever wanted was to get married, to have what my parents had. I thought I had it a few times before him but (thankfully) was wrong. I think he’s the person God made for me, and if anything ever happens to him I’d be done. I hope I never have to worry about that.

Anyways, here’s the cards, and I included a picture of my Grandparents on their wedding day.

A picture of my Grandparents, Richard and Bernice Smith, on their wedding day.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 1/2.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 2/2.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 1/2.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 2/2.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 1/3.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 2/3.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 3/3.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 1/2.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 2/2.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 1/2.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 2/2.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 1/2.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 2/2.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 1/3.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 2/3.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 3/3.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 1/2.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 2/2.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 1/2.
A card from my Grandpa to my Gram, part 2/2.