Tom Baker

Tom's grandparents came to the United States from various parts of Ireland. Some fought for the "Union" in the Civil War then moved to Colorado and settled in Denver, Gunnison and Breckenridge.

Tom is a native of Denver and graduated from East High School.

Upon graduation from high school the Korean was had begun. He wanted to go to the University of Colorado so he joined the United States Naval Reserve. Soon his unit was called up and he went to boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center near Chicago. During boot camp he was on the boxing team.

He volunteered for submarine duty, was accepted and became a second class deep sea diver. He received training for what is now called the "Seals".

He was assigned to the USS Sea Devil, SS400 submarine stationed in Pearl Harbor. His submarine did secret intelligence surveillance in Korea and the Russian port of Vladivostok. He was honorarily discharged from the US Navy.

Tom returned to Colorado and got a summer job as a wrangler at the Hamilton "T-bone" Ranch is La Jara, CO. He became a fishing and horseback riding guide and rodeoed on weekends.

He studied business at the University of Colorado and played on the University baseball team for two years.. He was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.

He met and married Jo Ann Cunningham, a Delta Gamma at CU. They had a daughter Kelly Ann who became a lawyer in Denver. After graduating from CU Tom went to work for his father at Baker Electric Company which was established in 1935. The company sold, repaired and rebuilt large electric motors, mining machinery, locomotives, pumps and overhead cranes and hoists. Tom realized a need for sound, reliable testing equipment for testing electric motors and predicting potential critical failures.He began working with the U.S. Navy at Annapolis to develop a piece of testing equipment that was solid state and would fit through submarine hatches and perform reliable testing of equipment. He was successful. In 1962 Tom started the Baker Instrument Company and manufacture mercury vapor tube testers. These could be used in many applications including railroad locomotives, large hydro generating plants and and many other types of equipment. Tom and his company subsequently did business with over thirty seven foreign countries.

Tom was a founding member of the Rocky Mountain District Export Council.

Tom and two partners purchased the Arapahoe Basin Ski Area where he was a major stockholder, Treasurer and Director. He sold the ski area to the Ralston Purina Co.

He was appointed by Governor Love to the Colorado Department of Labor Board of Directors.He was also appointed to the City and County of Denver Board of Ethics Commission and reappointed by three subsequent mayors for a total of twelve years. He was also appointed to the National Advisory Council on OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor by President Reagan.

Tom was one of three founders of "Step 13", a self-help alcohol and drug rehabilitation center in Denver. He served on that board for twelve years.

He is a former board member of the Denver Athletic Club, a member and past president of the Gyro club of Denver, a member of the Arlberg Club and a past member of the Rodeo Cowboys Association.