Melanie Ann Baker
September 2, 1953 – May 5, 2026
Melanie Ann Baker was born on September 2, 1953, in Springfield, Vermont, to Alexander and Eleanor (Abbott) MacCormack. She passed from this life May, 5, 2026, leaving behind a legacy woven from salt air and charcoal sketches, pound cake and four-leaf clovers, and an extraordinary capacity for love.
Melanie grew up in Charlestown, New Hampshire, graduating from Fall Mountain High School in 1971. She went on to study at the University of New Hampshire as an arts major, developing a deep and lifelong passion for the Impressionist period and Michelangelo’s Pietà — an appreciation she delighted in sharing with her family. Her artistic gift found its truest expression in portraiture, working predominantly in charcoal and pastel with a talent that was, by all accounts, remarkable.
In 1974, she welcomed her daughter Cori — whom she proudly called her greatest achievement and highest honor. Her love of the ocean and sea breeze drew her family to Cape Cod for a time, where she worked for New England Telephone as both an operator and in the business office. In 1987, she relocated to New Port Richey, Florida, joining TCI Cablevision in customer service. Then in 1998, she returned to New Hampshire to be near her daughter and family — a homecoming that would change her life.
In 2000, Melanie met Peter Baker, the love of her life, and they married in 2002. Together they built 24 years of partnership and devotion. In 2004, she returned to school, attending the University of Vermont for dental hygiene, and went on to practice as a dental hygienist in both New Hampshire and Vermont until her retirement.
The Atlantic Ocean held a special place in her heart, and for more than 20 consecutive summers she brought her grandchildren to Long Sands Beach in York, Maine — teaching them to body surf, the necessary skills of sand castle construction, and wandering the shoreline with them in quiet, meditative search of sand dollars. She was an avid kitchen-table birdwatcher, narrating with excitement every songbird that flitted past her window, and she possessed the almost supernatural ability to find four-leaf clovers, which she gave away freely and gladly to the people she loved.
Her family and friends will miss her surprise deliveries of pound cakes, sugar cookies, and popovers. And in keeping with her notorious Irish goodbye — a graceful departure before anyone quite realized she was leaving — it seems entirely like her to slip away without prolonged farewells or any convincing otherwise.
“Are you ready to go, Pete?” will live on as a family motto forever.
Melanie is predeceased by her parents, Alexander and Eleanor (Abbott) MacCormack, and her sister, Patricia Gail Demond. She is survived by her husband, Peter C. Baker; her daughter, Cori Elliott, and son-in-law Lawrence Elliott of Bath, NH; stepchildren Tracy Baker of Woodsville, NH, and Brian Baker of Claremont, NH; her brother, Alexander MacCormack, and his wife Kay of Virginia; nieces Terri Thomas of Sharon, VT, and Tammy Farr of Virginia; and many beloved grandchildren, great-nieces, and great-nephews.
There will be graveside service on Saturday August 1, 2026, at 11AM, at New Oxbow Cemetery on Oxbow Rd. in Newbury, VT, followed by a Celebration of Life at the Newbury Center Town House, on Scotch Hollow Rd.
To offer the family an online condolence, please visit www.rickerfh.com Ricker Funeral Home & Cremation Care of Woodsville is assisting the family with arrangements.