Gloria Jean Timmons Baker Schaefer was lifted up to heaven on angels' wings on Monday, August 18, 2008. She was born October 14, 1928 in Spirit Lake, Iowa to Ivan and Dorothy Timmons.
Gloria is survived by her second husband, Eugene R. Schaefer, Mason City, her five children Jerome (Kathy) Baker, Chapel Hill; Diana (Mark) Rettig, Cedar Rapids; David (Cindy) Baker, Waukee; Richard (Mary Ellen) Baker, Omaha; Pamela (Robbin) Wellendorf, Owasso; two stepchildren Jennifer Helle, Milford; Jeff (Cherry) Schaefer, Plano; thirteen grandchildren: Amy Jo (Justin) Wiese, Michael (Stacie) Baker, Adam (Kristen) Baker, Jill (Matt) Baker, Kara Baker, Heath (Allyson) Barry, Grant (Morgan) Barry, Mark (Jennifer) Wellendorf, Allison (Jeff) Payne, Robyn Wellendorf, Stephanie Rettig, Jessie Sprague, Jay Sprague, and nine great grandchildren: Parker, Spencer and Cooper Wiese, Kiersten and Kai Baker, Elison Payne, Walker, Katherine, and Addison Barry, two sisters Patricia (Donald) Dingel, Virginia (William) Verdoorn Lake Park, one brother Duane (Carole) Timmons, Muscatine.
She was preceded in death by her first husband Frank L. Baker, her parents, and one grandson Frank M. Baker.
She grew up in Ocheyedan, graduated from high school, attended college to earn her teaching certificate, and taught in the rural township schools around Harris and Lake Park. After the death of her first husband, she devoted the next twenty years to raising her children while she worked at the Red Owl grocery, the Selective Service until it closed and then the Social Security Administration until her retirement.
She married Eugene Schaefer in 1976. They lived in Milford and Mason City. They were winter Texans and enjoyed the warmer winters. She was a member of the Order of Eastern Star and National Association of Retired Federal Employees, serving each in various officer and volunteer capacities. In recent years she volunteered at The Discovery Shop, Mercy's SHIIP program, and Border Life.