Katrina "Katy" Baker

Katrina (Katy) Kirk Baker, age 80, of Hendersonville, TN, went home to be with the Lord on June 24, 2021, while in hospice care in Louisville, KY.

Katy was born on January 7, 1941 to Dr. James Kirk and Dorothy Noble Kirk. She was raised on her family’s horse farm in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, where she was an accomplished equestrian at a young age and continued riding and showing horses for many years. Katy excelled in high school tennis and continued to enjoy the sport well into adulthood. After graduating college, she went on to study Speech Pathology at the University of Kentucky where she earned her 1st degree in the profession and met her late husband, Kenny Baker. The couple married in 1962 and settled in Hendersonville, TN in 1966, where they remained for 51 years. They had three daughters, Laura (1965), Lynna (1966) and Katherine (1972).

Katy loved her church, her family and friends, her career years and her many pets. It was an honor to her heart to work with young children in early intervention speech therapy at Nannie Berry and Indian Lake Elementary Schools and in later years, volunteering speech therapy services to underprivileged children in the county. Whether it was as a Stephen Minister at Hendersonville First United Methodist Church, coming alongside the elderly, volunteering at the hospital, Katy had a heart for helping others.

Katy is survived and will be dearly missed by three daughters, Laura Baker Warburg (Frank), Lynna Baker Mayleben (Mike) and Katherine Baker Murray (Mike) alongside her 8 “Grands”, as she loved to call them. She is a beloved grandmother to Candice (31), Joey (28), Garrett (26), Shelby (24), Jason (22), Charlotte (13), Rosemary (9) and Caroline (9). She is also survived by her brother Howard Kirk, cousin Scotty Gordon Valdez, sister-in-law Vicki Tisch Baker, and nieces Julie Baker Rush and Jenny Baker Delo.

A private family service will be held as she requested. Katy will be laid to rest alongside her beloved husband, Kenneth Cloyd Baker, at Hendersonville Memory Gardens. In lieu of flowers, those wishing to honor her life may make a donation to any hospice organization or charity of their choosing.