2019/08/obit-Dolores-J-Obit-Pic-213x300.jpgDolores Jean Baker, age 86, resident of Dewey, Ariz., formerly a resident of Pagosa Springs, Colo., died in Prescott, Ariz., on July 19.
A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, Aug. 10, at Mountain View Baptist Church in Dewey, Ariz., at 1 p.m. Officiating will be Pastors Bill Patterson and Ed Imbierowicz. A lunch reception will be held following the ceremony. Interment will take place at Hilltop Cemetery in Pagosa on a later date.
Dolores was born in a log cabin on May 25, 1933, in Brevort Lake, Mich., to Earl and Margaret (Tait) Christensen. Her grandmother, Bertha, who was a midwife, resort owner and merchant at the Christensen Bay Resort, delivered her into this world. Dolores had an older brother, Earl Jr., and a younger sister, Marlene. In the 1930s, the family moved from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Detroit for work opportunities.
At 17, Dolores fell in love with George Buchanan Jr. and was married to him for six years in Detroit before he died from cancer at a young age. With George, she gave birth to Daniel and Debra.
In 1958, she married Stanley Prokop, with whom she gave birth to Diane, David, Dennis and Donald. The family lived in Fair Oaks, Calif., and Cape Kennedy, Fla. They relocated to New Mexico in 1966 to assist Dolores’ grandmother, Mary Tait, who was a missionary on the Navajo reservation. The Prokops owned a general store on the reservation and raised their six children until 1979 when they retired to Pagosa Springs, Colo. Stanley died in 1982.
From 1986 to 1999, Dolores was married to Raymond Littlefield, a Pagosa architect, and she owned a beauty shop in Pagosa Lakes. In 2003, she moved to Prescott Valley. She was married to Robert Black from 2001 to 2008. She was widowed four times. In 2011, she married David Baker. With Robert and David, she was able to do the travel she always wanted to do. She visited Scotland, Europe, Mexico and Alaska. She loved oil painting, reading, attending church, listening to music and playing games/cards. She was a dedicated wife, mother, grandmother and friend. She was loved by many and will be greatly missed.
Dolores is survived by her husband, David, Dewey, Ariz., and six children: Daniel Buchanan, of Citrus Heights, Calif.; Debra Vitelli, of Petaluma, Calif.; Diane Gurule (Todd) Wohlert, of Prescott Valley, Ariz.; David (Rita) Prokop, of Pagosa Springs, Colo.; Dennis (Kathy) Prokop, of Globe, Ariz.; and Donald Prokop, of Pagosa Springs, Colo.; and two step-children: Robert (Patty) Couse-Baker, of Sacramento, Calif.; and Mark (Gracie) Baker, of Round Rock, Texas. She is further survived by 17 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.
Dolores was preceded in death by her parents, Earl Christensen Sr. in 1951 and Margaret (Tait) Keller in 1995; siblings, Renee Palmer in 2001; Marlene Bradshaw in 2009; and Earl Christensen Jr. in 2013.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Mountain View Baptist Church, Dewey, Ariz.
