Bruce T. Baker Avid Tribe Fan Bruce T. Baker, 62, a resident of Niagara Village and formerly of 2682 Poplar St., died on Tuesday evening, March 7, 2006 at the St. Vincent Health Center.

A lifelong resident of Erie, he was born in Charleston, W. Va. on April 9, 1943, a son of the late Bruce and Mary Dollman Baker. Bruce last worked as a dispatcher at GTE-Verizon and retired in 2002 after 25 years with the company. Previously he had worked for 15 years in the plastics division of the Lewis Marx Toy Co. as a utility man.

He was a member of the Maennerchor, National, and Sportsman Athletic Clubs, and was affiliated with the Saints and Sinners. He was active in the Erie Maennerchor Duck Pin Bowling League, enjoyed Nascar Racing, and loved the Cleveland Indians. A 1960 graduate of Academy High School, he had long been affiliated with the First Baptist Church in Erie.

Bruce was preceded in death by brother Gordon E. Baker in 1967. He is survived by many aunts, uncles, and cousins, including Dennis Sterrett and wife Jeanne of Erie, and Sherry Buffalino and her husband Joe of Edinboro; also his best friend and companion, Bentley.

Services were held on Saturday morning, March 11, 2006 at the Russell C. Schmidt and Son Funeral Home, 5000 Wattsburg Rd., Erie, and burial was in the Erie Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Erie Saints and Sinners Club, % Erie Maennerchor, 1607 State St., Erie PA 16501 or Because You Care, P.O. Box 54, McKean, PA 16426. Published in the Erie Times-News on 3/12/2006.