Christopher Nathan Baker

Christopher Nathan Baker, 58, formerly of Evergreen, Colorado, passed away Thursday, July 11, 2024. He was a son of the late Raymond Conway Baker, Jr. and Shirley Jean (Wilson) Baker.

Born on December 31, 1965 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, he grew up in Westport, Connecticut, where he spent his winters playing hockey on the neighborhood pond and his summers at the town beach. He earned his Eagle Scout badge at the age of 14 and competed in football, wrestling and lacrosse in high school. He graduated from Staples High School in 1984 and went on to earn a Bachelors of Arts in Urban Planning with an emphasis in Real Estate Finance from the University of Connecticut. Possessing a very strong work ethic, Chris spent more than three decades in the commercial real estate appraisal business, specializing in the appraisals of ski areas and golf courses, and held a Masters of the Appraisal Institute (MAI).

He moved to Boulder, Colorado in 1995 a year after meeting his future wife through mutual friends on a ski trip. In Boulder, he served as a Big Brother in Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. In 1997, after marrying, he and his wife moved to Evergreen where he resided until last year.

The father of two children, Chris was involved in their activities, including coaching both their middle school lacrosse teams and serving as his son’s Cub Scout Master at King-Murphy Elementary. He was also active in the most fun team in Jeffco Baseball history – the Class of 2017’s Evergreen Brewers – for the boys’ time in grade school and helped organize the annual Meat Camp, a father/son camping trip.

He co-founded and served as the first president of the Old Squaw Road Pass Community Association (OSPRCA), where he helped tackle the neighborhood’s pine beetle problem and organize community social events. Always the master planner, he hosted an annual pumpkin carving party for years, where the goal was to see how many people could fit in the Bakers’ home. Dirt biking, skiing, and golfing were his passions.

Surviving him are his two children, Alexander Baker of Gainesville, Florida, and Elizabeth Baker of New York, New York; a sister, Natalie (Baker) Johnson of Glendale, Arizona; a brother by affection, James Moore of Redding, Connecticut; a sister by affection, Jennifer (Moore) Means and her husband Graeme Means of Albuquerque, New Mexico; former wife, Kathleen (Stewart) Baker of Gainesville, Georgia; and his greyhound, Kit. He is preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, H. Alexander Baker and Raymond C. Baker III.

A family service was held in the mountains he loved to ride and ski in outside his former part-time home of Montezuma, Colorado in Summit County.