Wayne Baker

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JimT
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Wayne Baker

Post by JimT »

Sorry to report that Wayne passed on December 6. He was quite a guy and I am honored to have known him and spent some time with him.
Walt
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Re: Wayne Baker

Post by Walt »

Thanks for that, Jim. I'm sorry to hear it.
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CowboyTutt
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Re: Wayne Baker

Post by CowboyTutt »

He gave me and my best friend a tour of FA years ago. He was a very kind man. Deeply sorry to hear. My condolences to Bob and family for their loss. -Andy
Last edited by CowboyTutt on Sat Dec 10, 2022 10:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"It ain't dead! As long as there's ONE COWBOY taking care of ONE COW, it ain't dead!!!" (the Cowboy Way)
-Monte Walsh (Selleck version)

"These battered wings still kick up dust." -Peter Gabriel
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JimT
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Re: Wayne Baker

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CowboyTutt
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Re: Wayne Baker

Post by CowboyTutt »

Thanks Jim. An incredible life.
"It ain't dead! As long as there's ONE COWBOY taking care of ONE COW, it ain't dead!!!" (the Cowboy Way)
-Monte Walsh (Selleck version)

"These battered wings still kick up dust." -Peter Gabriel
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CowboyTutt
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Re: Wayne Baker

Post by CowboyTutt »

I'm a bit surprised to not see more posts on this thread. While his obit does not emphasize it much in lew of his other accomplishments (can you imagine being a son or grandson of this man and being able to say, "My (Dad, Grandad, Great Grand Dad) built that bridge! (read the obit)? How much is that worth??? Wayne was the partner of Dick Casull himself and together they invented Freedom Arms and the Legendary Model '83 in 454 Casull. The two family's eventually had a falling out and having met both of them, I can see both sides of the story. But Wayne's accomplishment's were epic as were Dick's, just in different domains. Both men and families are just amazing and I'm grateful for having met both of them, and getting to hear their stories. I tend to think that Bob Baker was rather busy running the company the day my best friend Tym and I were there for a pre-arranged visit to FA, and I suspect Wayne volunteered to give us the tour, for reasons I will never understand as we were unknown to the Baker family as far as I recall. To my mind, they were just good, kind people. And sure enough, Wayne Baker himself gave my best friend and I a tour of Freedom Arms, and how they make their guns, in a gift that I have never forgotten to this day.

I'm very deeply sorry to hear of his passing, and more than his accomplishments, I think he will be remembered in the way he touched so many lives (this idea was in fact a hint from my friend McPherson but he was right as he almost always is, and I thought I should repeat it and give credit). Wayne touched a lot of people, not just in what he built, but in what he gave. I'm grateful to be one of those souls as is my best friend Tym. I'm sorry I could not make the funeral, and I should have written this yesterday.

Regards to the Baker family. Thanks for the gifts of that day. It was epic. Tym and I remember....

Sincerely,

Andy Tuttle aka CowboyTutt and Tym Hurst
"It ain't dead! As long as there's ONE COWBOY taking care of ONE COW, it ain't dead!!!" (the Cowboy Way)
-Monte Walsh (Selleck version)

"These battered wings still kick up dust." -Peter Gabriel
piller
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Re: Wayne Baker

Post by piller »

I never had the pleasure of meeting him. Everyone who knew him seemed to speak well of him. The shooting community has lost a lot with his passing.
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CowboyTutt
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Re: Wayne Baker

Post by CowboyTutt »

Mic McPherson asked me to post this:
Memories of Wayne Baker:

It was always a great pleasure to visit with Wayne at the Holiday or at the SHOT Show. I'd ask him what was new and he'd bring out pictures of another bridge he'd built and placed, practically single-handedly designing, obtaining materials, cutting steel, welding, designing and building foundations, lifting, placing, finishing access ramps and everything else involved.

What I found most fascinating about these discussions was that Wayne always talked about these bridges as if those were the most important things he had ever done, rather than just the most recent in a long list of great accomplishments.

If you have not read his book, then you have no idea of all the other impressive life experiences he’d had, for example, flying 32 bombing missions over France and Germany in the Army Air Corps during World War II. This was, by far, the most dangerous of all tasks in that terrible war. His survival through so many such missions is simply miraculous. Whenever someone says, thanks for your service, I think about Wayne, my father and so many others I knew who gave so much more, makes me feel unworthy.

Other important things he did include making the Freedom Arms revolver possible and raising a family.

Seeing him interact with his son and grandchildren was always fun. Just watching, I could tell his single proudest accomplishment was his family!

Seeing the pain in his eyes after losing Miriam was very telling. That was the longest talk I ever had with him. That conversation was important, but it was not fun. He moved on with his life but the loss was obviously devastating. (Miriam’s aunt had married my great uncle, so we had a connection, I’ll never forget her smile and the brightness in her voice as she shook my hand at my first Holiday, read the name of the sticker on my shirt and said, “McPherson, there were McPherson’s on Roan Creek.” She and I had always had fun conversations about family history and times past.)

I recall one Shootists' Holiday, a year or two before Wayne’s last with us, he came over to the Buffalo Range while half a dozen of us were shooting there. His eyes would no longer allow him to use the aperture sights on the Sharps rifles — he just could not see the target through those, but he tried.

He was not particularly frustrated with not being able to hit the target because he could not see it. He was not particularly frustrated that he could not see it. Actually, he was perfectly stoic about it. It just was what it was. As always in his life, Wayne would move on, doing what he could do and ignoring the loss of things he could no longer do. I found that impressive and know that it is something we all need to aspire toward.


I was honored to have known Mr. Wayne Baker.

Mic
"It ain't dead! As long as there's ONE COWBOY taking care of ONE COW, it ain't dead!!!" (the Cowboy Way)
-Monte Walsh (Selleck version)

"These battered wings still kick up dust." -Peter Gabriel
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gamekeeper
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Re: Wayne Baker

Post by gamekeeper »

Rip Wayne Baker, always sad to hear of the loss of a good man.
If more men loved and cherished their wives as much as I love bacon the world would be a much better place.
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