Valda Baker

VALDA VIVIAN (HUNT) BAKERValda Vivian (Hunt) Baker, age 93, of Atlantic, Iowa passed away on Tuesday evening, July 15, 2008, at the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic.Valda Hunt Baker, also formerly Valda Mehl, was born July 11, 1915 to Beadie Foy Hunt and Elza (Tom) Hunt in Royal, Iowa. She was born Vilda, named after her aunt, but changed her own name to Valda when she graduated from Royal High School in 1933. Valda was married June 27, 1937 in the Lutheran Church in Royal to Eugene Mehl. They were blessed with three sons: Gary, Tom and Dan. Gene passed away in 1960 and in 1967 Valda was married to Ralph Baker. Ralph Baker is also deceased.Val was three years old when her family moved to Lohrville, IA. While visiting an aunt in Oklahoma, her parents were asked permission for them to keep Val for a year to help take care of a young cousin and her aging grandfather Foy. She attended business school in Spencer, IA and worked for a chicken hatchery as a bookkeeper. Her father had a one year venture as a grocery store owner in Roland, IA and she helped her dad run the store. She went to two years of business school and lived with five other girls in Sioux City. During that time she made the acquaintance of a handsome young man named Gene Mehl from Hornick, IA whom she married. The young couple lived in Sioux City and then came to Atlantic where they ran the Snyder Motel.Here are Valda"s remembrances of her high school days in Royal, IA in her own words which she wrote for a reunion booklet: Royal will always have a special place in my heart. I often think of so many things that happened while I was going to school. I remember coming home after school and finding fresh bread, rolls and donuts on the white kitchen cupboard. My friend, Genevieve Roberts, and I were allowed to help ourselves. Summer evenings were spent playing games with all the neighbor kids until parents called to say it"s bedtime....You should have heard some of those calls! Threshing time was really a time I remember. From my dad"s (Tom Hunt) elevator you could see wagons lined up for as far as you could see. My mother would be out in the country with the other women cooking meals for the threshers. (I got in on some of those meals.) Mom would hurry home to take dad his meals at the elevator. With God"s help I feel I"ve had a pretty good life. I"ve traveled quite a lot, London, Canada, the New England states, the southern states and Mexico. After running a motel for 15 years, we retired and built a home. Six months later my husband passed away of a heart attack. I moved into an apartment and kept busy with volunteer work. Our three sons are married, I even have five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren and I love it but I don"t think they will ever have memories like mine. My door is always open to old friends.Valda leaves three sons, Gary Mehl and wife Carole of Kansas City, MO, Tom Mehl and wife Margaret of Des Moines, IA and Dan Mehl of Wichita, KS. She is also survived by her grandchildren Alan, Laura, Holly, Karen and Molly and her great grandchildren Collin, Callie, Lindsey, Ryn, Betsy, Delaney and Rachel.Funeral InformationA memorial service will be held for Valda at Heritage House at 2:00 PM on Friday, July 18 with her daughter-in-law Rev. Carole Mehl officiating. Guests may sign her register book at the Roland Funeral Home until noon on Friday. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be designated to Hospice at Cass County Memorial Hospital. Condolences for the family can be left on the Roland website at www.rolandfuneralservice.com.IN HER LOVING MEMORYVALDA VIVIAN BAKERBORNJuly 11, 1915Royal, IowaENTERED INTO RESTTuesday, July 15, 2008at the age of93 years, and 4 daysMEMORIAL SERVICESFriday, July 18, 2008, 2:00 P.M.Heritage House ~ Atlantic, IowaOFFICIATINGReverend Carole Mehl MUSICAL SELECTIONS ORGAN / PIANO "It Is Well With My Soul&" Marlene DeGeest "I Saw the Light&" "Precious Lord, Take My Hand&" "Just A Closer Walk With Thee&" "He Touched Me&"