TROY — Legendary News Center 7 reporter Steve Baker was laid to rest Tuesday morning.
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Baker died on New Year’s Eve. He was 79.
Family, friends, and former colleagues gathered at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Troy on Tuesday morning to say goodbye to the man who spent nearly 40 years covering news at WHIO.
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Stories were told about Baker. Everyone knew him as a serious journalist, but some of those stories brought laughter.
“One of the reporters said two-thirds of the world is covered by water. Steve covers the other part,” Rev. Fr. Eric Bowman said.
Baker made his mark on the Miami Valley, covering news, mostly as WHIO’s Northern Bureau Chief.
“We always called everything North of (Interstate) 70 Baker County,” retired WHIO videographer Dee Moorman said. “He delivered the northern counties.”
WHIO staff past and present also called Steve the “King of Miami County.”
News Center 7 anchor Gabrielle Enright recalled always calling Baker before crossing the county line to get permission to cover a story in the northern Miami Valley. She added that she didn’t have to do it often because if there was news, Baker was there.
“He got up in the middle of the night when something came on the scanner,” Moorman added. “He’d pop up and run out into the snow and take care of business.”
For Baker, business was also pleasure, but he also loved his family and friends.
“Accurate, on time, detailed,” Robert Malarkey said.
Malarkey, a retired orthopedic surgeon, knew Baker for decades.
“He was always someone you could trust,” Malarkey said. “Someone, when you see him, you know something is good, or he’s producing something we all need.”
Baker did his best to balance family life with work life, but they often intertwined.
He’s survived by his wife, Marty, his children, Mark and Stephanie, and five grandchildren.
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