Debra Baker

Debra “Debbie” Baker of Winston-Salem passed away peacefully on May 9, 2026, at the age of 71. 

The daughter of Bruce and Frances Farthing, she grew up in Danville, VA, with her sister, Claudette. As a child, she spent her summers helping to grow a variety of vegetables that would feed her family through the winter, which became her truest way of nourishing others (and also developed her annual need for garden-fresh tomatoes). She learned the merit of hard work, the importance of faith, and the value of family, which she carried with her throughout her life.

After graduating from high school, she attended Averett College in Danville, where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in only three years. She worked as an executive assistant in a variety of fields, including law offices, the School of Geology at East Carolina University, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, and the Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center. Additionally, she was an adjunct professor at Forsyth Technical Community College, where she taught typing and business classes. Her work ethic served her well, as she demanded excellence of herself and inspired it in those around her. She was the person others turned to when they needed a problem solved, a question answered, a document edited, or a task done right.

She met her husband, Charles “Chip” Baker, in Danville through a mutual friend in a bowling league. Chip proposed to Debbie after knowing her for only six weeks, and their whirlwind courtship grew into a fifty-year marriage. In the early years of their marriage, they enjoyed motorcycle adventures, bowling, and time with friends. As they aged, motorcycles were traded in for vacations at Myrtle Beach, which she looked forward to every year. In a world where lasting love is increasingly rare, their fifty years together stood as a testament to commitment, patience, and the kind of partnership that deepens with time.

Debbie was a devout Lutheran and found joy in serving her church. Whether Christ the King Lutheran in Danville, Faith Lutheran in Kinston, St. John’s Lutheran, or Augsburg Lutheran in Winston-Salem, she served on the altar guild and flower guild. At Augsburg, Debbie was an integral member of Mary’s Ministries, served on the church council, and provided food for countless church events. Her faith was not simply practiced on Sundays; it was woven into daily prayers, acts of service, and the warm hospitality she extended to others.

Throughout her life, Debbie showed her love for others through food, whether it was making chocolate suckers for every holiday, snickerdoodles at Christmas, or vegetable soup to last her family all year. She loved to host parties full of food, and whenever she would take food to a potluck, her dishes always came home empty. In addition, Debbie loved decorating for every holiday, but none as much as Christmas. Her collection of decorations included nine Christmas trees, a full Dickens Village, and countless nutcrackers. She fully embraced the holiday magic even in her wardrobe, and no Christmas outfit was complete without light-up jewelry. When Debbie wasn’t cooking or decorating, she channeled that dedication into her other favorite pastime: shopping. She loved finding the missing piece in her holiday décor collections or the perfect gift for family members and friends.

Debbie was preceded in death by her parents, Bruce and Frances Farthing, and her parents-in-law, Charles and Mary Baker. She is survived by her loving and devoted husband, Chip Baker; her daughter, Christin Baker; her sister, Claudette “Fran” Roberts (Rex); her siblings-in-law, Kathryn “Kathy” Baker, Michael Lynn “Mike” Baker (Kelli), and Karen Coffey (Bruce); her nieces and nephews, Vel Thurber Everett (Bill), Matthew Stowe (Barbara), Alexander Coffey (Kendall), and Jordan Coffey; great-nieces and nephews Major Zachary Thurber (Aimee), Mason Thurber (Sarah), Lily Grace Stowe, and an eagerly-anticipated Baby Coffey; great-great nieces and nephews Owen Thurber, Emma Thurber, Kaitlyn Thurber, and Reid Thurber; many cherished cousins; and beloved grand-dogs Bailey and Lissa.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at Augsburg Lutheran Church, 845 W Fifth Street, Winston-Salem, NC. A private interment will follow the next day in Danville, VA.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Heart Association or the National Kidney Foundation.