Crash victim a sunny soul

OREM — Wallace Baker spent his days good-naturedly teasing others, telling jokes and serving in the Provo LDS Temple.

The 94-year-old "spot of sunshine," as he was called by employees at the Seville Retirement Center, died Monday night after an accident on I-15.

"He was always cheerful, always had a big smile on his face," said Teresa Hadley, a co-manager at the Seville Retirement Residence on 325 W. Center in Orem, where Baker had lived for nearly a year after his wife passed away.

"He was one of the wittiest people that I ever knew. He would come up with (words), we called them 'Wallace-isms' because he'd come up with the funniest things."

A few days ago, Baker was handed an extra-small roll with lunch and went around with a petition to get larger rolls. The next day, Hadley said, the kitchen staff served Baker a giant roll they had made especially for him.

Monday night around 7 p.m., police said, Baker was driving north on I-15 near the University Parkway exit.

Witnesses say Baker looked confused. He was trying to turn left, but there wasn't a place to turn left at that point, said Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Cameron Roden.

As Baker crossed over two lanes of traffic, his car was hit by another and the two cars slammed into the middle cement barrier. Then, Baker's vehicle was hit head-on by a semitrailer truck. The driver of the other car was taken to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center and is OK. The semitrailer truck driver was not injured.

Northbound I-15 was closed for nearly 90 minutes so crews could extricate Baker and fly him via medical helicopter to University Hospital in Salt Lake City. He died there.

The Seville's activity director, Linda Nelson, said she was driving home last night and saw the accident but didn't realize Baker was involved until she arrived at work Tuesday.

"He was not the typical cantankerous elder," Nelson said. "Everybody likes him. He surely will be missed."

She said Baker loved serving in the temple and never let the fact that he had lost part of his right arm in a previous accident slow him down.

"He was the biggest teaser," Nelson said. "I (would tell him), 'Boy, you're a little short-handed aren't you?' and he (would) just tease me right back."

Nelson said Baker would frequently poke people with his cane to get attention.

"He was very positive, good to be around him," Nelson said. "There's a lesson to be learned from him."

---

E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com