By Ashley M. Casey
Staff Writer
After 60 years of living and serving in North Syracuse, Jim and Ann Baker are packing their bags for Falmouth, Maine. The village the Bakers called home for six decades is reluctant to let them go, judging by the dozens of neighbors, public officials and fellow volunteers who packed into the North Area Meals on Wheels building for Jim’s retirement party Aug. 10.
“My wife and I moved into the village in the late ‘70s … but my guess is Jim was here a little before that,” said Mayor Gary Butterfield.
“He is the smartest man I’ve known,” said Department of Public Works Superintendent Gary Wilmer.
Jim Baker has served on the village’s zoning board of appeals since 1967. “I haven’t resigned yet,” he reminded partygoers. Someone in the crowd called out, “We’re going to Skype him in!”
In addition to his 49 years on the ZBA, Jim has volunteered for NAMOW since the early 1980s at the behest of his wife; while on the organization’s board, he was instrumental in the construction of NAMOW’s current home on Church Street.
“He cared for this place like it was his own home,” said NAMOW President Bob Graves said. “Even when he went off [the board], he still very much cared about this place. He did good succession planning. … If it wasn’t for volunteers, we wouldn’t be able to fulfill our mission.”
Jim also was heavily involved at Andrews Memorial United Methodist Church, as was Butterfield.
“He was never a guy that was looking for fanfare — didn’t want to be in the limelight,” Butterfield recalled. “When he wanted to get a job done, he went at it.”
Mayor Butterfield’s wife, Maureen Butterfield, said the Bakers will be missed.
“He is such a sweet, sweet man — supports everything in the village,” she said. “They’re a really lovely couple.”
“He’s not a man of many words, but he’s a solid [resource] in this community,” Mayor Butterfield said.
Ann Baker, who described herself at Jim’s retirement party as a “woman of less than few words,” said she and Jim moved to North Syracuse in 1966 and still live in the same house.
“You’d think by now we’d be happy to leave,” she joked.
The Bakers are moving to Maine to be closer to their daughter, but they said they will miss North Syracuse as much as the village will miss them. Jim said he has “mixed emotions” about moving.
“We’ve made a lot of friends,” Ann Baker said.
Butterfield presented Jim with a proclamation on behalf of the board of trustees, thanking him for his “faithful contributions for the betterment and the enhancement of the village.” Jim seemed humbled by the recognition and the turnout to his retirement party; as Butterfield said, Jim does not seek out the spotlight.
“Helping other people,” Jim said, “is the main thing.”
