Dorothea Baker

Dorothea (Sherlock) Baker, 85, of 1050 Main Street, Hope Valley, R.I., formerly of Newtown, died at the Philip Hulitar Hospice Center in Providence, R.I., on April 9 after a brief illness.

Born in Colchester on March 6, 1916, she was the daughter of Mary Antoinette (Brown) Sherlock and James Thomas Sherlock. She lived her adult life in Newtown, where she was active in Girl Scouting and the Newtown Scholarship Committee. She was the widow of Morton Hills Baker, who was the director of research and development for Doran Brothers, Inc., of Danbury.

She graduated from the Williams School in 1934 and Connecticut College for Women in 1938. After three years as a home service representative for the Connecticut Light and Power Company, she was appointed assistant principal in the high school in Lebanon, where she taught physics, chemistry, and biology. Subsequently she returned to CL&P as supervisor of all home service programs in Connecticut.

In the 1950s she co-hosted a local TV program, The Electric Show, with Joe Francis out of Channel 8 WNHC in New Haven. During the late 1960s and the early 1970s she rejoined local TV as a guest panelist on What in the World, an educational show produced at Channel 3 in Hartford. She was also a frequent substitute teacher at the Hawley Elementary School in Newtown.

In her retirement she enjoyed gardening, traveling, visiting her grandchildren, and indulging her golden retriever.

She leaves two sisters, Virginia Kelley of Niantic and Betty Smith of Deep River; a daughter, Abigail Dickerson Baker of Hope Valley, R.I.; a son and two granddaughters, Dickerson Gregory Baker, Amanda Michelle and Kristin Necole Baker in Jacksonville, Fla.

A Memorial Service will be held at the convenience of the family. Contributions to the charity of your choice would be much appreciate by the family.                                                                                            The Newtown Bee       April 13, 2001