R-237 Page 1 of 1
2024
No. R-237. House concurrent resolution congratulating Lena Delores Baker on her
100th birthday.
(H.C.R.178)
Offered by: Representative Howard of Rutland City Whereas, Pasqualena Delores Valente was born in Rutland on March 13, 1924,
weighing a mere 2.5 pounds, but despite being told his new granddaughter was dead, her grandfather Bizzarro picked her up, felt her breath, and the family lore holds that a grandfather’s love saved her life, and Whereas, while a student at Mount St. Joseph Academy, from which she graduated in
1942, Pasqualena Valente met Quincy M. Baker Jr. at Fishman’s soda fountain, and they began dating when she was in eleventh grade, and Whereas, Quincy joined the U.S. Army Air Force shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack,
and, after graduating from MJS, Pasqualena Valente worked locally, became a nurse’s aide,
and, at the Bardwell Hotel, she and her sister, Lucy, served refreshments to soldiers on
home leave, and Whereas, shortly before Quincy Baker was deployed to the South Pacific, the two were engaged, and they married on December 30, 1944, honeymooning in New York City and reveling in the New Year’s Eve festivities in Times Square, and Whereas, after living out of state, the couple returned home to Rutland, where Lena Baker, as she became known, worked as a Welcome Wagon hostess, and, later, at the former Central Vermont Public Service Corporation (CVPS), staffing the trouble desk during severe storms, and she was recognized with several awards for her faithful service,
and Whereas, after retiring from CVPS, Lena Baker worked for the Tapestry Program, an afterschool day care, where she loved associating with the children, and Whereas, the marriage of Lena and Quincy Baker endured for 71 years, until his death in 2016, and he worked for the U.S. Post Office, was a talented drummer and trumpeter who played in the 40th Army Band of Vermont, and was elected a Rutland City Alderman,
and Whereas, Lena Baker wrote a cookbook relating her life’s history and detailing the numerous Italian recipes she enjoyed cooking for her family of five children, 10
grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren, now therefore be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly congratulates Lena Delores Baker on her 100th birthday,
and be it further Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to
Lena Baker.
VT LEG #375744 v.1