Wyoming’s Oldest Man Dies At 107
The oldest person in the Cowboy State passed away last week. Lloyd Baker died on July 9th at the age of 107.
Born May 17, 1911, the Etna, Wyo. native was the oldest of eight children. After graduating from Star Valley High School, he enrolled at the University of Wyoming.
“I rode on top of the train,” he told the Star Valley Independent in 2011. “I arrived in Laramie with a black face because trains were powered by coal at the time. I had to get off the train as it started to slow down outside of Laramie because if they found you riding on top of the train they’d put you in jail."
Lloyd paid his way through college working as a railroad courier and graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering. His love of learning continued later in life when he was a professor at an engineering college in Boise, Idaho.
In 1940, he married Edna Welborn. Together, they had five children, 17 grandchildren, and over 40 great-grandchildren. After designing shipyards during World War II, Baker opened a surveying company, which is still going strong. He was still driving at age of 104 and continued to work in the field until his death.
“Retirement is for old people and I don’t plan to get that way," he told a reporter at his 104th birthday party.
Baker credited his longevity to a diet of sweet, salty snacks and always carried a bag of peanut M+M's. He also loved to sing and dance.
"He danced with all the women," his sister Elcie Baker Walker told the Idaho Falls Post Register.
Lloyd's favorite song was "Let The Rest Of the World Go By". Originally composed by Ernie Ball in 1919, the song has been performed by several legendary artists over the years, including Gene Autry, Pat Boone, and Willie Nelson. But nobody sang it better than Lloyd did.
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