Wendell C Baker of Grand Terrace, California, passed away on August 10, 2026. He was born in Wichita Falls, Texas and raised in Texas and California. After graduating from Central Valley High School in Shasta Lake, California he enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1960 and proudly served as an aircraft mechanic until 1964. Wendell remained in the AF Reserves until 1968. After leaving the Air Force he began his lifelong career as a heavy equipment mechanic, joining the Operating Engineers Union Local 12 in January 1964; he was a dues paying member in good standing until the day he passed, something for which he was greatly proud. He retired from Riverside Construction in June of 2002. As anyone who knew him could tell, there wasn’t a piece of equipment he couldn’t fix, a problem he couldn’t troubleshoot, or a mechanic who hadn’t been addressed as “Hey Babe.”
After retirement, Wendell decided he was going to make every moment count. And he did. He began sailing with his lifelong best friend. They raced off the coast of California in weekly regattas, yearly races to Mexico, and of course weekend races to Catalina. It was his passion. Again, there wasn’t anything on the boat that he couldn’t repair if something went wrong. Bill, captain of the boat, and he were a perfect team. Another post retirement love was golf. Like anything else, he became great at it. He could drive it “farther than the young guys” on any given day. It was this passion and gift that he was able to share with his grandson Chad Baker who was blessed with spending many hours on the course with his PaPa. When Wendell wasn’t sailing or golfing he could be found in the garage woodworking, making delicate clocks, bowls, and special treasure boxes for all his loved ones.
Another passion of Wendell’s was boating and waterskiing. Many weekends were spent on the Colorado River with family and friends. He taught more kids to water ski than could be counted with patience and calmness that made learning simple. It didn’t hurt that he could drive his boat through the water like he was slicing butter. Some of the biggest smiles and best days were from sitting on the rivers edge watching the kids swim and the water flow.
Wendell was married to Joanne Baker (1942-2015) for 53 years. They had two daughters, Gwendolyn (Wendy) Baker and Yvette Werner. The family moved often until they settled in Grand Terrace in 1968. Life was filled with dance, Blue Birds and Camp Fire Girls, swim team, band, cheerleading, and show choir. He supported Wendy and Yvette in the way he knew how by working hard so that they could participate in the things they loved.
Both family and friends were incredibly important to Wendell. He is survived by his sisters, Kay Beth McCloskey and Karen Black and their families. His friendships, some going back as far as high school, were deep and lasting.
He loved his son-in-law Mark Werner. They were kindred spirits and held a deep mutual respect for each other. His grandsons: Austin Werner of Tucson, Arizona, Chad Baker of Grand Terrace, California, and Jared Werner of Albuquerque, New Mexico held a very special place in his heart. Of them he recently said, “The boys have all turned out to be good people. That’s what you want."
A celebration of Life will be held on Monday September 28, 2026, at Centerpoint Church (170 W F. St, Colton CA 92324) at 11:00 a.m. A reception will be held immediately following in the family home in Grand Terrace, CA. Interment will be at Montecito Memorial Park at 2:30 p.m. Memorial contributions in honor of Wendell may be made to the Sunny Glen Children’s Home, 2385 W Expressway 83, San Benito, TX 75586 in “Loving Memory of JoAnn Cone Baker. “Sunny Glen was dear to JoAnn. Wendell continued her legacy of support to “the home.”