Sally J. Baker

Sally Jeanette Doyle Baker, a Great Lady

Sally Doyle entered her life in a small town in Kansas on May 13, 1933. Her parents, Bill and Alberta Doyle, taught school. Bill, a NCAA wrestling champion, instilled a competitive spirit in Sally. Alberta’s generosity to the church and community gave Sally her love of service. They both taught her to value education. Her family’s frequent moves inspired a yearn to travel. But her gregarious nature was all Sally.

Sally matriculated at her father’s alma mater, Kansas State. After pledging to the Pi Beta Phi sorority, she worked for both her college and city’s newspapers, as well as the yearbook. In her sophomore year, a senior classmate, and 1952 Olympic silver medalist Thane Baker, asked a professor to assign Sally to work with him. In 1954, Thane’s proposal at the beginning of her senior year interrupted her academic career.

Sally and Thane began their married life in Germany while Thane served in the Air Force. In January 1956, a major in Washington, DC, asked if Thane wanted to try out for the 1956 Olympics. After returning to the United States, Thane went to Lockbourne AFB to train at Ohio State. Sally returned to Kansas State six weeks late to finish her last semester of college. She said, “By the time I caught up, it was time for finals.” Sally secured her Bachelor of Science in Home Economics and Journalism in May with a focus on young childhood education.

In June, Sally traveled to Los Angeles and watched Thane qualify for the Olympics. She earned her passage to Australia for the Melbourne Olympics in November. There, she cheered for Thane as he won his gold, silver, and bronze medals with a sprained ankle.

Mobil Oil sent Thane and Sally to Hobbs, New Mexico, followed by Great Bend, Kansas, where Catherine, joined the family. In 1960, the Bakers settled in Dallas, Texas. Doyle made an appearance in 1962. Raising small children kept Sally busy for several years. When Doyle entered kindergarten, Sally decided to teach. She then sold crystal at the Dallas Trade Mart parttime, which allowed her to manage the household and her children’s busy schedules. When Catherine and Doyle left for college, Sally simultaneously managed gift shops in two Dallas hotels. Afterwards, she combined her sales skills with her love of children to manage a toy store.

When Doyle graduated from college, Sally and Thane found time to travel to over fifty countries. Their travels included scuba diving over the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and drifting in a hot-air balloon over the Great Rift Valley in Africa. They walked the paths of Jesus in Israel, saw Ephesus, the site of St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, and visited Patmos where St. John lived and wrote. They also walked on the Great Wall of China and went to the Forbidden City. Sally and Thane stood high above the clouds in Switzerland and watched a mother grizzly bear and her cubs eating elk in Alaska. They visited the Vatican multiple times, threw coins into Trevi Fountain in Rome to ensure their return, and descended into pyramids in Egypt. Rugs in Morocco and mosques in Turkey fascinated them.

Sally and Thane traveled on the Volga-Baltic Waterway from St. Petersburg to Moscow where they went inside the Kremlin to shop and view cathedrals and treasures. They enjoyed Scandinavia with its beautiful fjords, cruised the Mediterranean and the Hawaiian Islands. A sailboat took them down the Nile. A late-night cruise on the Seine showed them Paris by night; a Rhine River boat permitted them to tour many castles. Canals in the Netherlands introduced them to windmills, cheeses, and flowers at the Keukenhof.

Sally and Thane tasted olives and wine in Portugal, Spain, France, and Italy. Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate, Auschwitz, Dachau, and Berlin’s Jewish Memorial saddened them. In Salzburg, they found locations where the crew of the Sound of Music had filmed. Vienna entranced them with its palaces, music, and luscious chocolate Sacher Torte. They pushed up the Leaning Tower of Pisa and kissed the Blarney Stone. The Bakers hunted for the Loch Ness monster in Scotland and drove among lions, baboons, and elephants in Kenya. They found and reconnected with Thane’s relatives in Germany. They enjoyed New Zealand, Fiji, and Australia in addition to almost all fifty states. When the Navy sent son-in-law, Chuck, to Japan with his family, Sally and Thane jumped on a plane to see the sights with “locals.” Sally captured her experiences with notes and photographs and made scrapbooks at home while planning their next trip. In Thane’s words, “Sally never passed a cathedral or cave that she didn’t visit.”

Once grandchildren arrived, Sally and Thane enthusiastically took Will, Zachary, Sarah, John Patrick, Rachel, and David on grand adventures, first to local parks and museums, then to Disney World and Branson, followed by trips to Europe at age twelve. When Will studied in Madrid and Sarah in Rome, Sally made sure to visit them.

Active in her church community, Sally taught Sunday school and helped in the church library. Sally insisted on Sunday school and church every Sunday. During coffee afterwards, Sally was in her element talking to everyone she met. Sally acted on her faith helping those less fortunate, both through organizations and privately. Her Christian faith guided her life.

Both Sally and Thane served as members of the K-State Alumni Board of Directors and K-State Foundation Trustees. Also, they funded two scholarships at Kansas State. Sally chaired a fundraising campaign for the Department of Human Ecology at Kansas State. In turn, they honored her with their Distinguished Service Award.

For twenty years, Sally and Thane lived in their home overlooking the Brazos River in Granbury, Texas. Sally served on the Board of Directors for the Pecan Plantation Home Owners Association. She decorated the clubhouse, edited their newsletter, the Columns, and served as president of the Women’s Club. Sally instituted a gift counter at the Granbury Opera House and created a cookbook to sell in their lobby. She volunteered in a local school to assist children with their reading. Sally and Thane also were instrumental in bringing the YMCA to Granbury for everyone to enjoy. Politics and working elections gave Sally another outlet for her energy. For exercise and social time, Sally enjoyed her water aerobics classes.

Sally and Thane moved to Bellevue, Nebraska, six years ago to be near their daughter. There, Sally welcomed her great-grandchildren, Charlie and Jamie.

Sally Baker lived a full life. She is survived by Thane Baker, her husband of sixty-six years, and her brother, John Patrick Doyle. Daughter, Catherine Nicholson, her husband, Chuck Nicholson, and their sons, Will and David Nicholson, along with their daughter, Sarah Webster, husband, Ben Webster, with their children, Charlie and Jamie, mourn Sally. Son, Doyle Baker, his wife, Billie, and their children, Zachary and Rachel Baker, continue Sally’s legacy. Due to cancer, grandson, John Patrick Nicholson, predeceased Sally.



A memorial for Sally Baker has been established at the Kansas State University Foundation. Contributions may be sent to: KSU Foundation, 1800 Kimball Ave., Ste 200, Manhattan, KS 66502, please indicate fund M47341. To make a gift online, go to

www.ksufoundation.org/give/sallybaker