Collette Baker

Collette Baker, 55, of San Francisco, CA and formerly of Groton passed away October 25, 2023 at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco.  

Collette Sue Baker was born March 9, 1968 at Jamestown, North Dakota.  She attended school in Groton, South Dakota graduating with the class of 1985.  She had an adventurous spirit and if she had an idea, she found ways to make it happen, like graduating from high school in three years instead of four.  She went to the principal at the end of her sophomore year and told him that she wanted to graduate after her junior, even though mom and dad said NO!  He made it happen and she graduated in 1985 instead of with the class of 1986.   She was ready to travel and left for a nanny job out east in Rhode Island.  After having that job for a couple of years, she decided that it was time to go to college.  She went off to College of Saint Mary’s in Omaha, Nebraska graduating with an Associate Degree in Applied Science in 1993. This degree led her to live her out her dreams of a life of traveling.  She loved working in the emergency room as an RN.  She joined a travel agency and worked in Phoenix metro area for several years, then took her travels to Alaska where she worked in Anchorage and Kenai in the emergency department.  After several years there, she took a job in San Francisco Bay area.  She loved the area and took a permanent job at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center for the past 15 years.  She had a gift of visiting with everyone she met, no one was a stranger.  Even in death she wanted to make a difference in as many lives as she could.  She was a donor for tissues, bones, eyes, connective tissue, and skin.

Collette is survived by her husband Ray Novak of San Franscisco, mother Karen Wolter, brother Keith (Mayme) Baker and sister Coralea Wolter, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews. Her faithful four-legged furry companion (Gizmo) will be lost without her.  She was proceeded in death by her dad Dale Wolter and brother Kervin Wolter. Private inurnment will be held in the spring at Groton Union Cemetery under the direction of Paetznick-Garness Funeral Chapel.  A memorial nursing scholarship will be established.

www.paetznick-garness.com

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