Gloria Anne Sayers Baker was born September 30, 1935, to Ralph J. Sayers and Irene Perkins Sayers in Detroit, Michigan. At a very young age, her family traveled to the South, eventually settling in Natchez, Mississippi.
She enrolled at Principia School in St. Louis, Missouri, in her late teens and graduated in 1953. She went on to further her education at the University of Mississippi, earning a B.S. in Physical Education, a Master of Education, and specialist certification in Special Education. While an undergraduate at Ole Miss, she joined Kappa Delta Sorority.
Mrs. Baker’s work as an educator spanned over forty years. She began her career in a one-room schoolhouse in Philadelphia, Mississippi, and later taught elementary school in the Marshall County School System. After completing additional education, Mrs. Baker served as special education director for Marshall County Schools, elementary principal at Marshall Academy, and completed her career as a homebound and special needs instructor for Benton County Schools.
She was an active member of the Holly Springs First United Methodist Church, serving on multiple committees and boards. After moving to Batesville, Mississippi, in recent years, she began worshipping at the Batesville First United Methodist Church, where she was a member of the Trinity Sunday School Class. She was an avid reader and always enjoyed genealogical research.
Survivors include daughters Joyce Baker Phillips of Holly Springs and Lane Baker Westfaul of Sardis; son, Duncan Baker of Holly Springs; and a brother, Jeff Sayers of Austin, Texas. She is also survived by four grandchildren: Michelle Wells Hutchens, Duncan Lamar Baker, Elane Sayers Westfaul, and Jayme Cathryn Westfaul, as well as two great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband of forty-nine years, Victor Lamar Baker, Sr., her son, Victor Lamar Baker, Jr., and her infant daughter, Janis Louise Baker.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Holly Springs First United Methodist Church, Batesville First United Methodist Church, or the American Lung Association.
Services will be held Monday, July 8, 2019 at 2:00 pm at the Holly Springs First United Methodist Church. There will be a visitation beginning at 1:00 pm until service. Burial will be at Midway Cemetery in Abbeville, MS.