In Memoriam: Collette Ramsey Baker, founder of DRF, 1918-2010
On May 9, 2009, DRF founder, Collette Ramsey Baker passed away at age 91 with her adoring husband and devoted companion of twenty-two years, Maurice Baker, constantly at her side. She was born in 1918 in Waverly, Tennessee. In her young adulthood, she became a favorite model of the renowned painter, Howard Chandler Christy. She was also a famous amateur golfer, setting the women's record at her home club, Baltusrol in New Jersey, winning its club championship for four consecutive years. After living with a substantial hearing loss for many years, at age 35 she had her hearing completely restored with an early fenestration operation. In gratitude, just over 50 years ago she founded the Deafness Research Foundation (DRF), for which she became widely known and respected, and was listed in Who's Who for Women.
Under her leadership, DRF gave grants to colleges and other research institutions for research and improvement of hearing. Since 1958, DRF has given over $25.5 million and over 2,000 grants to hearing and balance research. Mrs. Ramsey Baker received letters of commendation from many leaders and well-known people including Hoover, Eisenhower, Helen Keller, Cardinal Spellman, and others. In 1960, Mrs. Ramsey Baker and the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head Neck Surgery established the National Temporal Bone Banks Program to encourage individuals with ear disorders to pledge their temporal bones at death for scientific research. The program has grown into the National Temporal Bone Hearing and Balance Pathology Resource Registry sponsored by NIH's National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
Mrs. Ramsey Baker is survived by her husband Maurice Baker of Vero Beach, FL, her brother Charles Nicks of Hayesville, NC, her daughters Collette Wynn of Washington Depot, CT, and Janet Conrad of West Chester, PA, eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren. She was previously married to Hobart Cole Ramsey, a wonderful husband and father. She was blessed to have two such loving partners in her life.
In lieu of flowers, please send contributions in her name to Deafness Research Foundation, 641 Lexington Avenue, 15th Floor, New York NY 10022-4503.
