MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Family members confirm City of Martinsburg Ward 4 Councilman Mark Baker has died.
Originally elected in 1984, Baker was re-elected in 1988. Baker was elected for his current term in July of 2016.
He died Monday following complications from liver disease.
In addition to serving on Martinsburg City Council, Baker also worked for the West Virginia Division of Highways for 20 years. He retired in 2014 before returning to politics in 2016.
Baker’s son, Jason Baker, serves as Martinsburg Ward 5 City Councilman.
“He spent most of his life working and giving back to the community,” Baker told the Panhandle News Network. “Through city council or state roads, serving other people and of course trying to keep me and my brother and I straight.”
Baker said his father was instrumental in the creation of the current Martinsburg City Hall on North Queen Street. Outside of the city council’s chambers, Baker frequently talked local politics with his father.
“We had many heated discussions. If you go back through the voting record there were definitely some things that me and him didn’t see eye to eye on. We might agree with the theory, but there was definitely a different path for me and him at times. He had been very influential even before he was on council.”
In addition to his involvement with several Eastern Panhandle organizations, Mark Baker helped elsewhere in West Virginia. After the historic 2016 floods in southern West Virginia, Baker traveled to the flood-ravaged area to help rebuild homes.
Jason Baker complimented his father’s urge to help others. He described their relationship both professionally and personally as “incredibly strong”.
“I always gave him a hard time,” Baker said with a chuckle. “We always left an empty chair in between us that way he wasn’t constantly whispering in my ear. So we could do stuff.”
A viewing is scheduled for Friday from 6-8 pm. The funeral will be held Saturday morning at 11.
Both will be held at Brown Funeral Home in Martinsburg.