Dr. Joseph Baker Jr.,

Dr. Joseph Allen Baker, Jr., of Dexter, Missouri, was born Jan. 30, 1943, to the late Joseph Allen Baker, Sr. and Christine Towery Baker in Sikeston, and departed this life Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, at Prairie View Skilled Nursing Facility in Bloomfield at the age of 81 years. Doc was a retired veterinarian, who operated Stoddard Animal Clinic for 23 years. He then worked as a District Veterinarian for the State of Missouri for 18 years and did relief veterinary work at the Hicks Animal Hospital in Poplar Bluff. He was a United States Army First Lieutenant during the Vietnam War Era. He was a member of the Disabled American Veterans for 24 years, the American Legion for 14 years, and the Stars and Stripes Military Museum board for 27 years, where he served as President for 7 years. Doc also served on the Dexter School Board for 13 years, serving three years as President. Dr. Baker was an active member of the Dexter Church of Christ, where he served as an elder for 34 years and as Bible class teacher. Doc was also a dedicated hunter, who had been hunting all his life. In his free time, he would be found out in a duck blind, turkey blind, or in the fields looking for quail or a dove surrounded by his “buddies” Bruce Eskew and the late Charles Pippins, and a lot of times, his son-in-law, and a few of his grandchildren. On Jan. 23, 1966, he was united in marriage to Brenda Utley in Crowder. Mrs. Baker survives of the home in Dexter. Additional survivors include two sons, Shawn Allen Baker and his wife, Lisa, of Bloomfield, and Kevin James Baker of Dexter; one daughter, Heather Baker Hopper and her husband, Brent, of Decaturville, Tennessee; one sister, Pamela Sue Manwaring and her husband, Roger, of Sikeston; three grandsons, Justin Lane Hopper and his wife, Savanna, of Scotts Hill, Tennessee, Bradon Wilson Hopper of Decaturville, Tennessee, and Jakoby Thomas Allen Baker of Bloomfield; two granddaughters, Amethyst and Lydia Maxwell of Bloomfield; one niece and three nephews; other relatives and many friends. Visitation will be held from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, at the Dexter Church of Christ and Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, from noon until the funeral service at 1 p.m. at the Dexter Church of Christ with Jim Faughn officiating. Interment will follow in the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield, Missouri with full military honors. Many thanks to the staff at Prairie View Skilled Nursing Facility in Bloomfield for the care given during his last days. Memorials may be made to Children’s Homes, Inc., 5515 Walcott Road, Paragould, AR 72450; the Stars and Stripes Museum, 17377 Stars and Stripes Way, Bloomfield, MO 63825; Bootheel Youth Camp, 21200 County Road 525, Bloomfield, MO 63825; or a charity of your choice. Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter is assisting with arrangements.