Stillwater, Saratoga County Howard James Baker The tireless hands of Howard James Baker, born January 5, 1933, have finally come to rest after having passed on Monday, September 4, 2017. The third son of Charles and Isabel (Chase) Baker, Howard was born in Stillwater, New York where he resided his entire life. A graduate and star athlete of Stillwater High School, he married his high school sweetheart June Theresa McDermott, then served in the Army being stationed in Germany. Howard was a jack of all trades and a master of most working in a steel mill, and at Behr Manning as a machinist, and serving a term as superintendent of highway of public works for Stillwater. Over the years he was responsible for maintenance at several apartment complexes, and even at one time ran his own hardware store. However, his real love, second only to his wife of 64 years, was being a builder/carpenter. Howard had an innate ability to fix and construct just about anything, starting with his first job at age 9 fixing his neighbors stairs, and continuing throughout his life. He was the sole contractor of over 50 homes; many along North Hudson Avenue, the majority of them in the original Clinton Court neighborhood of Stillwater, and many others in the areas surrounding Stillwater, as well as rehabbing numerous homes throughout the Capital District. Never one to be idle, he used his time-off to build his Ponderosa for his growing family, continuously making improvements over the years. Whenever anyone needed assistance or guidance with home improvement projects, Howie was the man for the job; taking much pride in his carpentry work he used his impeccable craftsmanship to complete the job the Right Way. In addition to his wife, Howard is survived by children James (Rose) of Albany, John Terrance of Lake Worth, FL, Lauren Bagby (Brian) of Bolton MA, Pamela Lonergan of Baldwinsville, NY, Lisa Mason (Brian) of Waterford, Joel (Sharon) of Raymond, NH, Bonita Baker of Browns Mills, NJ, and Patrick (Tracy) of Stillwater. Howard was the proud Poppy of 17 grandchildren: Cara, Jess, Zachary, Jamie, Aaryn, Meghan, Courtney, Mathew, Caitlin, Kelly, Evan, Sammantha, Kevin, Shawn & Seth, Hannah and Georgia, and 4 great-grandchildren, Chase, Colin, Brayden and Mia. Howard is also survived by his oldest brother, Milton (Ruth) and brother-in-law Joseph McDermott (Laura); he was predeceased by his brothers Kenneth and Floyd. Relatives and friends may call from 9:00-11:30am on Friday, September 8, 2017 at All Saints on the Hudson Church (St. Peters Church). Funeral mass will be conducted at 11:30am. Burial with military honors will follow in St. Peters Cemetery, Stillwater. A heartfelt Thank-You to the staff of the ICCU at Saratoga Hospital for their exceptional care of Howard, and their compassion and attention to addressing the needs of his family during his stay. Online remembrances may be made at www.chasesmithfamily.com The family would like to honor those who serve the community, and ask that donations be considered, in Howards name, to the Stillwater Fire Department, the Malta-Stillwater Emergency Rescue Squad, the Stillwater Free Library or to St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital.