Beverly Baker

Beverly Baker, a native Ithacan died on September 5, 2026 following the aftermath of a stroke.

Born in Ithaca on May 4, 1933 to Dr. Langford F. and G. Arlene (Feagles) Baker, Beverly was a 1950 graduate of Ithaca High School and received her BS in Radio/TV (now Communications) from Ithaca College in 1954. Beverly spent some twenty years in broadcasting affiliated with radio stations in Ithaca (WHCU and WTKO), Syracuse (WOLF) and New York City (WHN). Prior to joining WHN, she was Manager of the Radio-TV Department of the National Council of the Episcopal Church where she earned a Freedom Foundations Award for one of the programs she produced. While at WHN she did some freelance work for a travel company in NYC. In 1965, she traveled around the world and came back to Ithaca to work for Stone Travel and then Cook Gauntlet before opening her own agency, Baker Travel, Inc. on election day, November 5, 1973.

Active in her community, Beverly was a member and past president of: the Ithaca Rotary Club (and a multiple Paul Harris Fellow); the Friends of Ithaca College; AAUW (American Association of University Women); and the Ithaca Woman’s Club. She also served as president of the Ithaca Business and Professional Women’s Club (now defunct) and the City Federation of Women’s Organizations (now a foundation).

At various times through the years, Beverly was a member of the Board of the: Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce; Community Foundation of Tompkins County; Historic Ithaca; Downtown Ithaca; Cayuga Chamber Orchestra; the DeWitt Historical Society (now History Center); the Baden-Powell Council BSofA; Franziska Racker Centers; Tompkins County Strategic Tourism Planning; the CFWO Foundation; and Lifelong.

She also served on the Vestry of St. John’s Episcopal Church and the Advisory Committee of the Women’s Fund of the Community Foundation. Beverly was the emergency caller for FISH for numerous years.

Beverly was the recipient of numerous honors. In 1979, the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce recognized her as its Outstanding Member, in 1980 as its Outstanding Board Member, and then in 1985 honored her with life membership in the Chamber for her ‘many years of dedicated service to the community’ (the youngest person ever so honored). Beverly was Ithaca College’s Distinguished Alumni in 1995, a 1996 recipient of an Award for Excellence from the then Tompkins County Trust Company, and was awarded the Four Avenues of Service Award by Rotary International in 1999. Beverly was Ithaca’s Distinguished Citizen of the Year in 1998. In 2006, the Salvation Army honored her with its highest civilian honor, the “Others” award.

Back in 1992, she was the first woman to receive the ‘Women Making History Award’ and, in 2000, Historic Ithaca honored her for her historic preservation efforts. In November of 2007, Beverly was named the Philanthropist of the Year by the Association of Fund Raising Professionals, Finger Lakes Chapter. In April of 2010, Beverly was honored with the New York Community College Trustees Marvin A. Rapp Award for Distinguished Trustee Service and received the ‘Friend of the College’ award from TC3 at its graduation in May of the same year. She was honored to have been named a Trustee Emeritus by TC3 upon her retirement as Trustee in December 2011 after fourteen years of service.

In 2013, Beverly was honored by the Women’s Fund of the Community Foundation with the Laura Holmberg Award and in 2014 Beverly was honored by the Boy Scouts of America with the Silver Beaver Award, their highest honor for a volunteer for distinguished service to youth. First awarded in 2019, the Ithaca College Presidential Medal was created as a way to honor an individual or a group whose significant contributions better the Ithaca College community and our world. Beverly was the 2020 recipient and the first alum to be so honored.

The last event of Ithaca College’s Centennial Year celebration in 1992 was the Founders’ Day Concert in the Park. Beverly was president of the Friends of Ithaca College that year and was determined it should be an annual event so first Baker Travel and then she, personally, have sponsored it ever since. In her will, she has provided an endowment for the concert to continue in perpetuity.

It seems Beverly was always raising funds for one cause or another and tried to give unselfishly of her time, talent and resources to the community she loved. She was especially proud of raising the money for the benches in DeWitt Park, various beautification efforts, helping to fund the Hospital Chaplaincy, and her efforts to endow the Women’s Fund of the Community Foundation. 

In addition to privately funding scholarships at Ithaca College and TC3, she established and funded a ‘Helping Hands’ fund at TC3 which gives small grants to students in need and founded the ‘Angel Fund’ which funds the cost of medical care and surgery for animals at the Tompkins County SPCA. Beverly also originated and sponsored the annual SPCA ‘Phantom Ball’ for all the years it existed. All are endowed through bequests in her will.

When Beverly decided to open her own business, funding was difficult. Her parents mortgaged their home for the start up costs. Beverly paid that loan off in two years but she never forgot how difficult funding was and through the years helped numerous young women to start their own businesses. That’s why she was so particularly proud to be involved from the beginning with the Women’s Fund which helps women in numerous ways. A bequest will now enable the Women’s Fund to help women start their own small business.

Beverly is survived by many good friends…friends with whom she shared many good times and laughed with throughout the years…and to whom she was very grateful for their love, care, and support. She was especially grateful to have been included in the Gravani and True family holiday gatherings. In recent years she was also most grateful to numerous simple acquaintances and neighbors for their care, help, and support.

A celebration of Beverly’s life will be held at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ithaca at 2 PM on Saturday, October 24, 2026 followed by a reception in the church annex.

Although Beverly loved flowers her wish was that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the “Angel Fund” of the Tompkins County SPCA, the Helping Hands Fund at TC3, the Community Foundation’s Women’s Fund Endowment, or the charity of one’s choice.