Lyle Baker

It is with deepest sorrow we announce the passing of Lyle William Baker on March 20, 2025 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Beloved husband to Charlotte; Dad to Leah, Cory (Jackie), and Grandpa to Emelia, Isla and Evan. He was family to many and a dear friend to countless others.

Lyle was born November 28, 1954 in North Battleford as a middle child to parents Edwin and Alice Baker and spent his childhood growing up on the family farm near Richard, SK. During his school years Lyle earned himself multiple visits to the principals office for the many pranks he and his classmates would play on the teachers. He and his two siblings, Alfred and Lois, spent much time having fun on the farm. The night before his passing, Lyle was reminiscing about the cars he had owned (and crashed in various ways) and how he came to get his motorcycle license after eventually remembering that goggles are important. One of his cars, a red Cutlass Calais T-top he said was bought "to pick up chicks" and that it clearly worked as Lyle and Charlotte had just celebrated there 43rd wedding Anniversary on January 2nd.

One of the things that Lyle always spoke of with joy was how he had been introduced to radio control model airplane racing by his long-time friend Harold Sattler in 1976. He was so incredibly proud of the many accomplishments he attained in the sport. Many hours were spent in his workshop; building, fine-tuning and preparing his planes for the many race meets held across Canada and the US every summer. Many evenings were spent at the Hub City Radio Control Club flying field getting those planes set up just right. He won many awards and these are proudly displayed at the house. One of his greatest accomplishments in this area of his life was winning the Canadian Prairie Pylon Racing Association points championship in 1994. Not only was there racing, but also sport planes and for this we have to mention his Pitts Special biplane. After being diagnosed with cancer he had made it his goal to get a Pitts and he was able to achieve that goal summer of 2024. Many hours were spent in his workshop building this beauty and he was able to get 5 flights on it before the fall weather came in. This airplane was one of the big highlights in his life, and to see him pilot that plane was truly breathtaking. He spoke of this plane many times over his last week and shared his disappointment that he would not get to fly it again. As his family, we would have done anything we could to make this wish come to fruition, but alas there were other plans for Lyle. He was actively involved in the racing and flying community since 1976. Whether it be teaching future pilots, visiting on the flight line or cutting grass out at the field you could often find him out there. He made countless lifelong friends while racing and a day didn't go by that he didn't have stories to tell of the times spent with them. One such memory was when a group of them had gone to a race meet in a motor home. After not sleeping much and being a bit 'tired' the next morning after some frosty beverages drank the night before, Lyle went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Well, in the dark he grabbed the wrong tube and boy his teeth were minty after accidentally using A535. We will never look at a tube of A535 without remembering Lyle telling us this story.

While speaking of highlights, we have to talk about meeting the true love of his life, Charlotte, in 1981. Lyle had been living in Saskatoon and was invited to a friend's party in Battleford and as it turns out, this was a mutual friend of theirs and as the saying goes, the rest is history. Interestingly enough and unbeknownst to them, Charlotte had moved into the apartment that Lyle had just moved out of. She still tells the story of the furniture left behind including a mattress and box spring propped up on beer boxes; Lyle was quick to confirm "they were empty"! They were married January 2, 1982 and had their daughter Leah in 1982 and son Cory in 1985. In the 43 years since their union there were many memories made and adventures taken. Camping trips taken up to northern SK and road trips taken through Canada and the US. Lyle was able to combine his love for family and his love for racing by often incorporating family road trips into race meets. In 1992 Lyle surprised Mom with tickets to Vegas for their 10th Wedding Anniversary and they had a wonderful trip celebrating their 'tin' anniversary. Lyle and Charlotte's first adventure to warmth in the winter was to the Dominican Republic in 2007 with some of their friends and this spurred their love of getting away for a break from the cold. Their 30th anniversary was celebrated while in Cuba with their children. It was a great trip with many memories made. They were able to get to Germany and tour throughout Europe in 2009 with some of their lifelong friends and had a really wonderful adventure. This trip also involved him taking part in the World Championship Pylon racing. Many winter months were spent being snowbirds down in Arizona, and they loved trading in the snow and cold for sunshine and cacti. In 2023 they were able to do a Canadian East coast road-trip and spent a few weeks travelling throughout the mari-times and attending their nieces wedding. This was a trip that the two of them spoke of fondly in the years that followed as it had been on their joint bucket list. In 2005 they were able to purchase their own little slice of heaven in the form of a cabin up at Chitek Lake. This became a spot where the family was all able to converge on to spend time. Grandchildren came along and Lyle enjoyed taking the kiddos out fishing or getting them involved in various jobs around the cabin. Summers were spent up at the cabin and over the years new toys were bought including a pontoon boat and a side-by-side ATV which Lyle named De Lone (fitting as it is a Polaris Ranger). Countless hours were spent out on the water fishing or just cruising on a beautiful evening. Trail rides were a common occurrence with their lake family and often included a weenie roast. Walks down to the dock with tackle box in one hand and and a rod and net in the other and you knew he was on a mission to catch supper. The last few years they had taken up ice fishing and Lyle was always up and ready to head out and set up their spot for the day. Many days spent in their shelter waiting for the perfect catch or visiting with lake family out on the ice. Lyle was a social butterfly and mornings at the cabin you would find the two of them sitting on the front deck with their coffee and visiting with all the neighbors. Evenings by the fire telling stories, enjoying a cold beer and some snacks was often how the days came to a conclusion when up at the lake. Lyle was quite the storyteller and often had us all doubled over with laughter while around the fire. He had rigged up a pully system to have a circus-tent type tarp over the fire so we could enjoy the firepit, rain or shine and there were many evenings our lake family came over to join us in the warmth of a bonfire.

Lyle also enjoyed going out to the stock car races and Sundays were often spent watching Nascar racing. They were able to go to a few races while down in Phoenix and also while in Las Vegas. The two of them did the whole VIP package to take in every last detail. While he did not take part in stock car racing, Lyle did participate in multiple demolition derbies and wrecked 3 cars in the process. Lyle was able to share his love for racing with his grandson Evan who loved to sit with Grandpa and watch racing of any sort.

Lyle was a Mr Fix-it for jobs around the house, cabin or anywhere he was. If he didn't have a solution he was quick to find one and provide tips on how to best get the job done. He always taught the kids to "save all your screws because you never know when you might need one that size" and that all pieces of wood are worth saving for those odd jobs around the house and we both have full boxes to reflect that advice. If you ever needed a tool, Lyle was the guy to ask and he often had duplicates; one for home and one for the lake. His little tips and tricks will be missed by all who knew him, so we all must keep sharing that advice so it always lives on.

In closing, Lyle was one of the best guys you could ever have had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know. To know him, was to love him. His friends and family will forever cherish the memories we have made and will always share stories of him. 

There will be a Celebration of Life held on Thursday, April 10th at the RCAF Lynx Wing (2407 Avenue C North, Saskatoon) from 2:00 to 5:00pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan. We would also like to thank all of the physicians, nurses and support staff that helped Lyle throughout his battle. In addition, we thank all friends and family for the visits in-person or on the phone during the past few weeks. These visits helped to brighten Lyle's day and in turn, we as his family.

We want everybody to help honor Lyle and always live your life to the fullest and follow a key piece of advice from him..."If it ain't fun, don't do it!"