Florence E. Baker

Florence E. Baker, 84, a resident of Hollis, NH, passed away January 17, 2024 at the Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in Nashua after a brief illness.

Born in Winchendon, MA, she was the daughter of Howard and Edith (Harris) French. She grew up in Rindge, NH, the eldest sister to three brothers and two sisters, experiencing the demanding work focus of a self-sufficient farm raising beef cattle and poultry and tending to vegetable gardens. She attended a one-room school in Rindge and graduated from Winchendon’s Murdock High School in 1957.

She received a nursing degree in 1960 from the Worcester City Hospital School of Nursing, decades later earning a BS in Nursing at Emmanuel College in Boston.

She spent the longest portion of her career as a Registered Nurse (RN) at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, MA, rising to Nurse Manager for a critical care unit. She subsequently took her nursing skills to St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua, NH.

A resident of Wellesley, MA for 41 years before moving to Hollis in 2015, for 50 years Florence enjoyed summers in Alton Bay, NH on Lake Winnipesaukee.

In retirement, before moving full time to NH, she spent several years volunteering with the Massachusetts Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. She was an active volunteer with the Hollis Woman’s Club and the Congregational Church of Hollis.

She balanced her career with raising three sons, creating a loving home where her life in every aspect was an expression of love, preparing healthy meals for her family and knitting sweaters and scarfs for her immediate and extended family. A voracious reader of books and a piano player, she also enjoyed putting out bird-feeders, tending to her many house plants, crocheting and crafts, regularly traveling to League of NH Craftsmen fairs.

She was predeceased by her husband of 61 years, Burnham, and two brothers, Howard Jr. (French) and Kenneth (French). She is survived by sons Brent Baker of Annandale, VA, Bruce Baker (and wife Shreya Jain) of New York City, and Brian Baker (and wife Christine) of Mont Vernon, NH, two grandchildren, Kristina and Alyssa, of Milford, NH.

A memorial service will be held at 11 AM on Saturday, January 27 at the Congregational Church of Hollis with a viewing beforehand at 10 AM and, following the service, a reception in the church’s Hardy Hall. Family and friends welcome.

A burial, at Lakeview Cemetery in Wolfeboro, NH, will follow in the spring when weather permits.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory can be made to the American Red Cross (https://www.redcross.org/) and the Congregational Church of Hollis (https://hollischurch.org/ ).