Joseph Baker

Joseph David Baker, 65, died on May 4, 2018 at his home in North Little Rock in the comfort of family and friends following a lengthy and courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Joe was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on January 14, 1953 and grew up in the Methodist faith. He attended school in North Little Rock (Northeast High School Class of 1971) and later graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1975, where he was a proud member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity and made many lifelong friends. Due to his intelligence and outgoing personality, Joe achieved considerable success in sales and management, first in Houston, Texas, and then later in medical equipment sales with Nellcor, Inc. in North Carolina, a medical products company for whom he was named salesperson of the year, a regional and national sales trainer, and a product specialist. Along with his work, over the years Joe enjoyed a variety of memorable trips and activities with friends that he maintained from childhood and college.
Later, Joe moved to Florida and worked there until returning to Central Arkansas following the death of his father, Joe R. Baker, in 1992. At that time, Joe choose to enroll in nursing school and became a registered nurse, a position which allowed him to work and care for others until cystic fibrosis left him unable to continue to work. Joe then moved back into the family's home in North Little Rock to live with and take care of his amazing mother (they actually took care of each other), where he remained until his recent death. Joe was very appreciative of the care he received at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, in particular the care given by Dr. Sara Harrington and her staff.
Joe is survived by his wonderful mother, Mary Anne Housley Baker; his loving sister, Rosemary Torrence and her husband Craig; his nephews, Cliff Torrence (Tessa) and Drew Torrence; cousins, Dana Pennington and Doug Baker (June); and a host of other relatives and friends. A visitation for Joe will take place at the Smith North Little Rock Funeral Home, 1921 Main Street, on Wednesday, May 9, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. with his memorial service immediately following at 11:00 a.m. Rev. Don Nolley will be officiating.