Even before the term "Girl Dad" was coined, my father was the OGD (Original Girl Dad).
He was born on Thanksgiving Day on the 22 nd of November in the year of Lord – 1942
to Melvin and Geraldine (Moore) Baker at Prairie View Hospital in Prairie View, Texas.
They named their baby boy Melvin Lavoiser Baker. Note: He was NOT a junior.
The only child of the childhood sweethearts was surrounded by a whole village of love
including from the Moores, Scotts, Rabbs and others on his mother's side and the
Bakers, Clarks and Thompsons on his paternal side, all in Brookshire. The young family
moved to Houston before Little Melvin entered primary school.
As a child, the Moores and his maternal Brookshire Family made faith and church a
centerpiece in his life. From an early age, he attended Grant Memorial Church of God
in Christ with his grandparents in Brookshire and Greater Law Memorial Church of God
in Christ in Houston. As a boy, my father recalled watching from his window the late
Rev Hoxie Perry, Jr, the late Rev J.T. Hart, Sr., the late Harold Catchings, Sr. and others
form the Mt Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, which was located across the street from
his boyhood home on Wilmington. Miss Effie Lenued is the only remaining charter
member from this group. And in May, 2006, he joined Mt Moriah through baptism. He
supported activities of the Men's Ministry and enjoyed attending Sunday Service and
other church events.
Melvin was educated in the Houston Independent School District beginning with Brock
Elementary School around 1949 continuing on to Miller Junior High School graduating
in 1957 before matriculating to Evan E. Worthing High School where he was a
defensive lineman on the Colts football team. He earned his high school diploma in
1961.
Summers in his youth were spent in Brookshire where he worked alongside his
maternal grandfather Charlie "Pop" Moore on the family farm; enjoyed the great cooking
and loving affection of his maternal grandmother Lula "Gran" Moore; and the adoring
attention of his maternal aunts – Leverie "Auntie" Moore and Vernell "Shute" Bryant (nee
Moore). Years later, his brother cousins Raymond Charles and Reginald Delano Bryant
along with Cousin Luther Leonard would join his merry crew. As Gran would say:
Melvin was the short fuse; Raymond Charles was the worker; Reggie was the jokester;
and Luther Leonard was the talker.
And when not working with Pop, he rode around the area on the family mare Susie and
honed his hunting and fishing skills with Pop and cousins Kookie & George Scott as well
as with his paternal clan including with one of his father's younger brothers – Willie, Jr.
Raymond Charles recently remarked that history and the movies had Davy Crockett and
Daniel Boone, but it was his Cousin Melvin who was his hunting hero.

After his parents divorced - and while his father was still in his life, it was his Aunt
Shute's husband - Uncle Raymon – who stood in the gap … taking him to Boy Scouts
activities, fishing, and teaching him many positive life lessons.
In 1959, his mother united in marriage with Jimmie Johnson. Big Papa became a
stalwart and steadying influence throughout my father's life. Steering him from the teen
years into manhood. Modeling to him how to be a good husband just by how he treated
and cherished my Big Mama. My Dad once said, "Jimmie won me over; I gave him a
hard time. Because it was just me and Mama. But he was strong, and he stayed right
there."
Under the watchful eye of his paternal grandmother – Mama Sarah, summers were also
spent teaching him many life lessons including that he did not want to become a farmer!
So at 14 - since he was big for his age, he secured a job as a plumbing apprentice and
laborer with the International Plumbing Company. He worked at International for about
three summers during high school and spent one summer in his senior year working at
General Electric.
Upon his high school graduation, Melvin attended Texas Southern University from 1961
to 1963 and was No.77 as part of the D-Line for the Fighting Tigers. In the summer of
1962, life intervened when he met the love of his life Diane Denise Randolph, the best
friend of his cousin Ethel Benton (nee Johnson) – during Mama's summer break from
Fisk University in Nashville. The couple married on February 22, 1963, and to this
union was born Sonja Michele (June,1963) and Kimberley Renee (September, 1965).
One day, Daddy and I were talking and he muttered: "I'm the only boy in a family of
three girls." He continued to ponder this issue until 15 years ago when God brought
Elvis L. Wilkerson into our lives and blessed us all immensely. Unbeknownst to both
men, they were father and son. And with the addition of his son, he gained a daughter-
in-love Phyllis Wilkerson; grandchildren – Anthony, Marquita and Brice Wilkerson; and
three great grandchildren – Christian, Joshua and Peyton Wilkerson.
He would return to TSU to complete his Bachelor of Industrial Education degree in the
early 1970s.
He worked as a machinist at Hughes Tools from 1964 to 1986 before eventually retiring
as a forklift driver at Budweiser – an Anheuser Busch company - in 2005. Along the
way, he was an advocate for workers rights and was active in the AFL-CIO labor union.
He served a number of years as president of the Hughes Tool Social Club – site of
union meetings and activities and also home to the famous Baker Family New Years
Day Wild Game Dinner.

On October 17, 2024, Melvin joined the ancestors in our Father's heavenly home. He
leaves to cherish his memory: His loving wife of 62 years - Diane; daughters – Sonja
Michele & Kimberley Renee Baker; son Elvis Wilkerson (Phyllis); grandchildren –
Anthony (Shamara), Marquita and Brice Wilkerson; and great grandchildren – Christian,
Joshua and Peyton Wilkerson. He also leaves to remember him his precious sisters –
Stephayne Manley; Wanda Baker-Paul (Patric, Sr.), Chassie Matthews (Gary); aunts –
Charlie Mae Bunton and Mary Morrison (Gene); uncles – Hubert; Bernestine (Lynn) and
James Clark. Also: Cousin brothers Luther Leonard; Raymond Charles Bryant (Kathy),
Reginald Bryant; longtime friend and brother – Gale Wesley Benton (Faye) and high
school friend Ruston Malveaux (Dorothy); a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and
friends. Special recognition to the following families: Wagners, Dotsons, Harrisons,
Vernons, Jenkinses, and Varners.

Funeral Services will be held Saturday, October 26, 2024, at 10 a.m. The viewing will be at 9 a.m. Services will be held in the Sanctuary at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, 4730 Pederson St., Houston, Texas 77033.

Services will be livestreaming at http://www.mtmoriahchurch.org . In lieu of flowers, donate to the Mt. Moriah Baptist Church Building Fund at http://www.mtmoriahchurch.org    to Meal Train at Meal Train for Sonja and Kimberley Baker and Family https://mealtrain.com/77e91n (https://mealtrain.com/77e91n)