Sister Mary Erwin (Marlene Anne) Baker - IMAC Class of 1952

Our dear Sister Mary Erwin Baker, 77, died in Ross Hall Monday evening, Sept. 24, 2012. Her brother Ken Baker was at her side. She faithfully served the people of God as a Sister of Charity of Leavenworth for 59 years.

Sister Mary Erwin (Marlene Anne) Baker was born on Feb. 17,
1935 in Leavenworth, KS, one of four children of Erwin and Marcella (Biehler) Baker. She graduated from Sacred Heart Grade School, attended Saint Mary Academy until it closed, graduated from Immaculata High School in 1952 in Leavenworth, and attended Saint Mary College (now the University of Saint Mary) during the 1952 fall semester. She
entered the religious community of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth on
Feb. 11, 1953 and as Sister Mary Erwin, made her profession of vows on Feb. 22, 1955.
She received her B.S. degree in mathematics from the University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, and her M.A.T. from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. From 1955-1962, S. Mary Erwin taught in elementary schools in MO and KS. S. Mary Erwin wrote “though the generosity of S. Mary Roberta Fitzgerald and S. Noreen Kerscher who helped me plan lessons and who shared teaching ideas with me, I received at least twenty years of experience within my first two years of teaching in grade school.”
Sister taught high school math for eight years at Bishop Hogan High School in Kansas City, and Annunciation High School in Denver. She attributed her growth in her ability as a teacher to the guidance and encouragement of S. Agnes Virginia Hamm.
In 1972 S. Mary Erwin went to the University of Saint Mary to teach mathematics, math education, and computer science courses. She introduced the first PCs at Saint Mary, Apples of course, and was also the resident expert on the metric system. After 28 years at the college, and with numerous
grants for teaching excellence to her credit, she retired in 2000 due to health reasons. Retired? Not really! She was happy to find that with a little instruction from Rite Hite (USM) and some experimentation on her own, she learned how to post information to the SCL web page and help the Saint Mary College webmaster.
In 2002, S. Mary Erwin had written that “while I was completing my degree through summer courses, I was privileged to be the typist for S. Mary Paul Fitzgerald. By her example she showed me how to accept illness and death.” An educator to the end, in 2007 Sister Mary Erwin spoke about ataxia, the disease that had attacked her, and palliative care in one of the nursing classes at USM. One of the students wrote “the biggest thing I appreciated about Sister was her tenacity towards her disease and her willingness to look it in the eye and not let it get her down. She was very inspiring in how she set everything in place…and was not bitter or full of self-pity.” The Mary Erwin Baker Award for Caring Behaviors was inaugurated in 2008 by the USM Nursing Department students and Faculty.
Survivors include her brothers, Anthony Baker, Lawrence (and Judy) Baker, Ken (and Sheila) Baker; nephews Keith (and Lisa), Bill (and Melissa), Tom (and Kelly), Glen (and Danielle), Steven, Jhon, and Ernesto Baker; nieces Christine (and Larry) Bolz; Sara, Solange, Karen, and Jaquelin Baker; 7 grandnephews; 4 grandnieces; friends and her SCL community.