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The Rev. Sylvia J. Baker
Obituaries | The Tube City Almanac | April 25, 2025
The Rev. Sylvia J. Baker, whose pastoral work in Shanksville, Pa., included ministering to thousands who went to the tiny town after the crash of Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001, died Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in East McKeesport. She was 91.
Rev. Baker was pastor of the Shanksville Assembly of God Church from 1999 until her retirement in 2021. Her life as a minister was a second career she began in her early 60s after the death of her husband, Roy D. Baker.
After the plane crash on 9/11, she and another local pastor went to the scene to minister to emergency workers. For months after the crash, her church was visited by people who wanted to visit the site.
She did missionary work in the Philippines and throughout Central and South America. She was active in leadership of the PennDel District Assemblies of God.
She worked for many years at D'Appolonia Engineering, and raised her family in Penn Hills before moving to Shanksville. She became an avid jogger and participated in many 5K and 10K races. She joked that as the only runner in her age category, she always finished first.
She enjoyed many summer days at her cabin in Ridgeview Park in Derry Township, and was a past president of the park association. She was a member of the Society of Farm Women of Pennsylvania and served as judge of elections in Shanksville for many years.
Rev. Baker was born April 16, 1934, in Swissvale, daughter of the late William and Marie Pearl (Wampler) Mount. She is survived by her children, Debra Lee Lesko of Gilbert, AZ; Susan Marie Whittaker (Mark) of East McKeesport; and Roy Donald Baker Jr. (Tia) of Tulsa, OK; her grandchildren Dawn, Mary, Teresa, Rebecca, Marie, Olivia, and Michael; 8 great grandchildren;
and brothers Charles Mount and Gay Mount.
Friends will be received from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Friday, April 25, at the Forgie-Snyder Funeral Home, 1032 Broadway, East McKeesport. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday
in the funeral home. Family will receive friends one hour prior to the service.
Interment will follow in Crossroads Cemetery, Monroeville. For online condolences please visit www.snyderfuneralservices.com.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Bridges From Kuwait cat rescue at https://bridgesfromkuwait.org/donate/
To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of The Rev. Sylvia J. Baker please visit our Sympathy Store.
Originally published April 25, 2025.
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