Patricia Ann Baker

Surrounded throughout her life by family, dear friends, and a wide community who adored her, Patti Baker passed away peacefully in Santa Rosa on November 4th, 2025, in her 85th year. Born in San Francisco on September 15th, 1940, Patti was the oldest of three children and grew up in the warmth of a close, joy-filled family. Patti’s childhood in San Francisco’s Lakeshore District was shared with her siblings. She often spoke with affection about her life-long friends from school. Summers brought treasured trips to the Sierras, Yosemite, and the Russian River alongside close family friends, creating memories of deep and lasting connection.

On August 26th, 1961, Patti married her husband, Joe Baker and together they welcomed three lively children. Mark Baker, Dan Baker, and Michele Baker (Tony Goodin). After her husband passed away in 1970, Patti visited family friends in Petaluma and Cotati and in 1972 she made the heartfelt choice to move her young family to the Petaluma area. She knew she had found her true home the moment she drove with her brother up a rustic Penngrove driveway to a sprawling meadow bordered by eucalyptus trees. She named it “Rancho Contento De Los Bakers,” a place that soon became a sanctuary of grazing deer, wild turkeys, coyotes, and cattle—and the heart of Patti’s famously warm, boisterous hospitality. Patti’s passion for her Swedish, Irish, and Portuguese heritage fueled her lifelong exploration of family history and cooking. Her kitchen and home became gathering places for countless friends and family who enjoyed her joyful presence, effervescent charm, and gifted culinary talent. Her love of food led to her local newspaper column, Patti’s Platter, where she reviewed restaurants, shared recipes, and wrote about memorable meals with friends. Beginning in the mid-1980s, Patti began compiling a detailed and heartfelt personal journal of family stories, recipes, photos, local history, and recollections of cherished gatherings. The resulting 350-page volume captures her warmth, energy, humor, and vibrant personality. In her professional life, Patti spent twenty years working with a family-owned local business, for the Libarle’s at Lace House Linen, helping usher their operations into the era of new technology. She later managed a beloved coastal Inn’s restaurant alongside her close friend Susan McKinney at Little River Inn before returning to Petaluma full-time in 1992 to work with her brother Rich Johnson at Golden Land Realty Real Estate. 

Patti is survived by her three children Mark, Dan & Michele and her siblings, Rich Johnson (Linnea Koagedal ) Lynn Butler (John Butler) and Cousin Steph Lynch her son Sean Lynch niece Genevieve Ladha and Gretchen Gelb and her family Lily, Eli and Jesse Gelb and extended family and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Mervyn and Mildred Johnson her husband, Joe Baker, Cousin Frawley Lynch, Brother-in-law Jack Cannon, and her Nephew Matt Cannon.

A Celebration of Life will be held at the Penngrove Social Fireman Clubhouse in March 2026. Patti’s camaraderie, art, music, hospitality, and treasured recipes will be deeply missed—especially her beloved 

“Recipe for a Life Well Lived.”

“Good Food,

Good Meat.

Good God, Let’s Eat!”

(From one of the captions in Patti’s Journal)