Edith Irene (Bailey) Baker (1901 - 1994)

Born 17 Nov 1901 in Sevierville, Sevier, Tennessee, United States

Wife of Howard Henry Baker Sr. — married 15 Sep 1935 (to 7 Jan 1964) in Tennessee, United States [uncertain]

Died 2 Apr 1994 at age 92 in Loudon, Loudon, Tennessee, United States

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Biography

Edith Irene (Bailey) Baker was an American politician and a United States Representative from Tennessee. She was the widow of Howard Baker Sr. and the stepmother of Howard Baker Jr.^[1]

Baker was born in Sevierville, Tennessee, on November 17, 1901, and attended public schools in Sevierville and Maryville.

Baker served as Deputy County Court Clerk of Sevier County from 1918 to 1922 and as Deputy Clerk and Master of Chancery Court from 1922 to 1924.

After her first husband's death, Baker went to work for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). On September 15, 1935, she married Howard Baker Sr., who was a widower with two children. The couple raised Baker's two children from his first marriage, Howard H. Baker Jr. and Mary Elizabeth Baker, as well as a daughter of their own, Beverly Irene Baker.

She served on the Republican National Committee from 1960 to 1964. When her husband died suddenly in office on January 7, 1964, Baker ran as a Republican in the Special Election to fill the remainder of his term, defeating Democrat Willard Yarbrough, a Knoxville journalist. As a candidate for the seat, she promised to serving only as a caretaker who would not seek further election; and she fulfilled that promise, and served from March 10, 1964, to January 3, 1965.

Baker died in Loudon, Tennessee on April 2, 1994 (age 92 years, 136 days). She is interred at Sherwood Memorial Gardens, in Loudon, Tennessee.

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia entry for Irene Baker

• "Irene Bailey Baker". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Irene Bailey Baker. Tennessee Biographical Dictionary. 2000-01-01. ISBN 9780403097005.
• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14939664), memorial page for Irene Bailey Baker (17 Nov 1901–2 Apr 1994), Find A Grave Memorial no. 14939664, citing Sherwood Memorial Gardens, Alcoa, Blount County, Tennessee, USA.