Remembering Bill Baker

A big hearty thank-you to the estate of William B. and Margery A. Baker for endowing a fund in their name. The total investment is expected to exceed $2M. Thanks also to Russ McDuff for stewarding Bill and Marge over many years.

Bill was born in Seattle in 1921 and graduated from UW in 1944. He worked as a student in our unit but we did not yet offer degrees back then, so he studied geography. Upon graduation he immediately became a naval officer. He served in the Navy during the end of WWII through the 1960s and was awarded the Silver Star for heroism in combat during the liberation of the Phillipines. As Chief Operations Officer of the Naval icebreaker USS Burton Island, Bill was the first person to map the bathymetry of the Arctic through the entire NW Passage (1954). 

Marge was born in Montana but moved to Seattle for high school. She and Bill met in college and they were wed during Bill's senior year and Marge's junior year. Marge was an avid Husky and loved UW. Bill and Marge were strong life-long supporters of our school and we are grateful for their support.