Diane Marie Baker, “Aunt Diné”, “Dodah”, “Pattycake”, 65, of Beaumont, went to be with the Lord on Monday, February 8, 2016.  She was a native and longtime resident of Beaumont. Diane continued to demonstrate God’s love and grace until her last breath.

She earned both her Bachelor and Master degrees from Lamar University. A band director for forty years, she has worked at every UIL classification level, from “C” middle schools to “6A” high schools, as well as, Instructor of Percussion at Lamar University. Her bands have earned Sweepstakes, Honor Bands and State Marching Contest recognition. A member of Phi Beta Mu and the Texas Music Adjudicator Association, she served Region 10 for thirty years as Region Secretary, President and Band Chair. An active clinician, Ms. Baker was most recently a representative for Swicegood Music Company, where she traveled the roads mentoring other directors. In the last ten years, she has traveled to Africa three times with her church and treasured those experiences beyond words. She impacted everyone she encountered from the homeless in Beaumont to the children in Africa. For those of us on the earth our days will not be the same, as we long to see her smiling face, yet we should rejoice in the fact that she is cradled in the arms of Jesus.

Diane is survived by her nephew/son, Dayn Stout and his wife, Sherry; sister, Starr Stout; niece, Dawn Durrett and her husband, Shannon; great-nieces, Heather Stout, Lauren Stout, and Harley Dupree; great-nephews, Chevy Durrett and Shawn Durrett; and goddaughter, Karly  Dalton.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Grover August Baker and Margaret Ella Baker. 

*As we all know the angels in heaven have beautiful voices, yet rest assured she is up there teaching them how to march. Of course, you know she has them standing at attention in piles of ant beds yelling “no knucklehead your other left foot”. But that is just how a left handed girl drummer rolls!

A gathering of Miss Baker’s family and friends will be from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m., Saturday, February 13, 2016, at Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont. Her funeral service will be at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, February 14, 2016, at Calvary Baptist Church, 3650 Dowlen Road, Beaumont, with interment to follow at Mansfield Cemetery, Vidor.