Isabel Baker

Dr. Isabel Louise Keith Baker, age 90 passed away peacefully on September 2, 2019. She was the daughter of Claude and Hattie Mae Keith and was born on May 27, 1929 in Row, Oklahoma later named Colcord.

She married her husband Tim Baker on July 26, 1946 and they were the proud parents of three sons Tim K., Donn and Bill John Baker.

For over forty-three (43) years, Dr. Isabel Baker served in public education. Her teaching career began in 1950 at the age of twenty (20), after she received her Bachelor of Science in Education from Northeastern State University. Isabel was twenty-three (23) with three children when she received her master’s degree

from OSU. She later received her Doctorate from Oklahoma State University. Her public-school career has included positions at Shidler, Sapulpa and Tahlequah. In Higher Education, she taught at Morehead State University, Northeastern State University and Oklahoma State University.

She was appointed to the Oklahoma State University Board of Regents by Governor David Walters in 1991. She was recognized as a champion of gender equality and was the recipient of several awards for those endeavors. She was a member of Oklahoma Woman’s Hall of Fame, Oklahoma State University Hall of Fame, Distinguished Alumnus at OSU, Oklahoma Mother of the Year and many other honorary awards. Dr. Baker served on the Board of Directors of the Tahlequah Chamber of Commerce and was selected as a Board Member of the Year in 2010. She also served as a Board of Director with the Bank of Cherokee County and was the first woman in sixty years to serve as a Board Director with Tahlequah Public Works. In addition to her tireless work for her church she held many state and national offices with the Democratic Party. For a girl that grew up in the depression, she relished the opportunity to help others lift themselves up out of poverty through education.

She was a lifelong resident of Tahlequah and will be missed by many. In addition to her surviving brother Bill Keith and his wife Vivian, she leaves her son Tim Keith and his wife Diana, Donn and his wife Sharon and Bill John and his wife Sherry. She is also survived by her 13 grandchildren, 27 great grandchildren and 5 great-great grandchildren.