Dr. Lyle Baker was born in Woodhull NY on July 25, 1921, to Archie and Hazel Baker. He attended Osceola High School in PA, and received his degree in Animal Husbandry from Penn State in 1942. He served in WW2 as copilot of a B24 Bomber, and went down with his crew over Hungary in June 1944, spending the rest of the war as a POW in Stalag Luft 3 in Poland. After the war he married Barbara Painter in 1946, then received his Veterinary degree from Cornell in 1949. After briefly working for a vet practice in Shippensburg, PA, he moved his family to Turlock, CA in 1951 where he joined Lander Vet Clinic and raised his four sons, Richard, Robert, Gary and Scott. In 1960, he became interested in Animal Nutrition and formed his own Veterinary business, also selling veterinary pharmaceuticals. In 1965, he founded the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, and soon after Animal Nutrition Inc., which formulated healthier feed rations for dairy cattle. In 1968, he wrote a book called "Bovine Health Programming" and began to speak nationally on the subject of animal health. In later years, he was heavily associated with Linus Pauling's International Academy of Preventative Medicine.
He was an accomplished sportsman (forming a championship softball team) and an avid bridge player, achieving the rank of life master. He formed a local non-profit called "Know the Truth" which was dedicated to the cause of better human health, and was a regular contributor to the Turlock Journal and several magazines. He owned two dairies at various times, raising a test herd of Jerseys, who achieved record yields. He was an active member of the Freemasons, The Presbyterian Church, and the Exchange Club. He was also known for his extensive memory, often entertaining locals with his poetry recitations. He formed Hilmar Veterinary Clinic in 1966 (with Dr. S.S. Takhar) and at one time owned Olive Veterinary Clinic in Turlock also. After selling his veterinary practices in 1980, he met an untimely death in an auto accident while returning from a dairy call near Madera, CA in Dec. 1981.
A link to his war story is at http://451st.org/Stories/Pdfs/Baker's%20Story.pdf
He was an accomplished sportsman (forming a championship softball team) and an avid bridge player, achieving the rank of life master. He formed a local non-profit called "Know the Truth" which was dedicated to the cause of better human health, and was a regular contributor to the Turlock Journal and several magazines. He owned two dairies at various times, raising a test herd of Jerseys, who achieved record yields. He was an active member of the Freemasons, The Presbyterian Church, and the Exchange Club. He was also known for his extensive memory, often entertaining locals with his poetry recitations. He formed Hilmar Veterinary Clinic in 1966 (with Dr. S.S. Takhar) and at one time owned Olive Veterinary Clinic in Turlock also. After selling his veterinary practices in 1980, he met an untimely death in an auto accident while returning from a dairy call near Madera, CA in Dec. 1981.
A link to his war story is at http://451st.org/Stories/Pdfs/Baker's%20Story.pdf
Dr. Lyle Baker was born in Woodhull NY on July 25, 1921, to Archie and Hazel Baker. He attended Osceola High School in PA, and received his degree in Animal Husbandry from Penn State in 1942. He served in WW2 as copilot of a B24 Bomber, and went down with his crew over Hungary in June 1944, spending the rest of the war as a POW in Stalag Luft 3 in Poland. After the war he married Barbara Painter in 1946, then received his Veterinary degree from Cornell in 1949. After briefly working for a vet practice in Shippensburg, PA, he moved his family to Turlock, CA in 1951 where he joined Lander Vet Clinic and raised his four sons, Richard, Robert, Gary and Scott. In 1960, he became interested in Animal Nutrition and formed his own Veterinary business, also selling veterinary pharmaceuticals. In 1965, he founded the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, and soon after Animal Nutrition Inc., which formulated healthier feed rations for dairy cattle. In 1968, he wrote a book called "Bovine Health Programming" and began to speak nationally on the subject of animal health. In later years, he was heavily associated with Linus Pauling's International Academy of Preventative Medicine.
He was an accomplished sportsman (forming a championship softball team) and an avid bridge player, achieving the rank of life master. He formed a local non-profit called "Know the Truth" which was dedicated to the cause of better human health, and was a regular contributor to the Turlock Journal and several magazines. He owned two dairies at various times, raising a test herd of Jerseys, who achieved record yields. He was an active member of the Freemasons, The Presbyterian Church, and the Exchange Club. He was also known for his extensive memory, often entertaining locals with his poetry recitations. He formed Hilmar Veterinary Clinic in 1966 (with Dr. S.S. Takhar) and at one time owned Olive Veterinary Clinic in Turlock also. After selling his veterinary practices in 1980, he met an untimely death in an auto accident while returning from a dairy call near Madera, CA in Dec. 1981.
A link to his war story is at http://451st.org/Stories/Pdfs/Baker's%20Story.pdf
He was an accomplished sportsman (forming a championship softball team) and an avid bridge player, achieving the rank of life master. He formed a local non-profit called "Know the Truth" which was dedicated to the cause of better human health, and was a regular contributor to the Turlock Journal and several magazines. He owned two dairies at various times, raising a test herd of Jerseys, who achieved record yields. He was an active member of the Freemasons, The Presbyterian Church, and the Exchange Club. He was also known for his extensive memory, often entertaining locals with his poetry recitations. He formed Hilmar Veterinary Clinic in 1966 (with Dr. S.S. Takhar) and at one time owned Olive Veterinary Clinic in Turlock also. After selling his veterinary practices in 1980, he met an untimely death in an auto accident while returning from a dairy call near Madera, CA in Dec. 1981.
A link to his war story is at http://451st.org/Stories/Pdfs/Baker's%20Story.pdf
Gravesite Details
b PA;dMercedCA; h/o Barbara C. fpref# 10208
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