Donald G. Baker

AUSTINTOWN - Former Youngstown Police Chief Donald G. Baker, 87, passed away Saturday afternoon, July 9, 2016, at Austinwoods Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center after a brief period of declining health.

Donald was born Aug. 2, 1928, in Youngstown, a son of the late David and Estella McCollum Baker, and was a lifelong area resident.

He attended Chaney High School and earned his GED after serving in the U.S. Navy for two years just after World War II.

Don joined the police force in October of 1950, serving for two and a half years before joining the Fish & Wildlife Service in Alaska. He returned to the YPD at the end 1953, was promoted to detective in 1961, became a lieutenant in 1962, and was named captain in 1966. In 1968, he was named deputy chief. He was appointed police chief by Mayor Jack C. Hunter in 1970, a position he held for the next seven years. Don retired from the YPD in 1981.

During his tenure, Chief Baker launched an innovative crime prevention program that saw the city’s crime index drop 22 percent. He furthered his education by taking classes at Youngstown State University and at the University of Maryland. He also studied bomb disposal techniques at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va.

Don enjoyed spending time with his family, and loved walking his daughter’s dogs in Mill Creek Park.

Mr. Baker is survived by sons, Douglas (Cindy) Baker of Austintown and Glenn (Mary) Baker of Jupiter, Fla.; daughters, Catherine Baker of Plano, Texas, Karen Baker of Boardman, and Wendy Jenkins of St. Clair, Pa.; four grandchildren, Daniel, Brian, Keith, and Amy; three great-granddaughters; one great-great-grandson; and several nieces and nephews, including David (Hollie) Baker, who was very close to him.

He was preceded in death by a sister, Dorothy Baker; and four brothers, Thomas, Harry, and David Baker, and his twin, Kenneth Baker.

Family and friends call from noon to 1 p.m., Thursday, July 14, 2016, at Kinnick Funeral Home, 477 North Meridian Road, Youngstown, where funeral services will take place at 1 p.m.

Interment will follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Boardman, where graveside committal services with a police honor guard will take place.