Record photo
Howard
Buddy Baker, 74;
longtime Heights police chief
By Merry Firschein, Staff Writer
The Record, Wednesday, March 24, 2004Howard R. "Buddy" Baker Jr., a former Hasbrouck Heights police
chief, died Tuesday. He was 74.
Born in Hackensack in 1929, Mr.
Baker was a lifelong resident of Hasbrouck Heights and a 1948 graduate of Hasbrouck
Heights High School.
Mr. Baker spent all of his adult
life serving the borough. "He was very committed to the town," said Greg Condal,
one of Mr. Bakers sons-in-law. "It was his whole life."
Mr. Bakers family has been
in the borough since 1896, when his grandparents arrived from Bath, NY, Condal said.
Mr. Baker was a member of the
boroughs Police Department for 42 years. He became a sworn officer in January 1951,
when he was 21 years old. Mr. Baker was appointed chief of the department in September
1975, and served for 18 years, until his retirement in February 1993.
Mr. Bakers son, Alan Baker,
is an officer in the boroughs Police Department.
The elder Mr. Baker worked
because he loved the borough, Condal said. "He never really looked for some special
credit or recognition," Condal said. "He was always interested in doing the
right thing."
Mr. Baker was a life gold member
of Policemens Benevolent Association Local 102 of Hasbrouck Heights. He was a member
of the Bergen County Police Chiefs Association, the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs
of Police, and the National Association of Chiefs of Police. He was a life member of the
Bergen County PBA Mutual Aid Society.
Mr. Baker established the first
police darkroom in 1958, and in 1966 was the first borough officer to be certified to
operate a Breathalyzer, Condal said. In March 1976, Mr. Baker established the 911 system
in Hasbrouck Heights, and in 1989 he started the boroughs DARE program.
Mr. Baker was a member of the
Bergen Police Pistol League.
Mr. Baker followed in his
fathers footsteps as a borough firefighter. A 28-year member of the department, he
was in Fire Company 2 and served as assistant chief of the department.
In one sense, it was easy for Mr.
Baker to be both a police officer and firefighter, because he lived next door to the old
Borough Hall, which housed both departments. He could jump out of bed and be there, and
thats what he did," Condal said.
Mr. Baker was a member of the
Hasbrouck Heights Firemans Relief Association, a life member of the New Jersey State
Firemens Association, the Hasbrouck Heights Exempt Firemen Association, and the New
Jersey Exempt Firemans Association. He was a life member of the Bergen-Passaic
Exempt Firemans League, a life member of the New Jersey-New York Volunteer
Firemans Association, and a life member of the South Bergen Fire Chiefs Aid
Association and the New Jersey State Fire Chiefs Association.
He was a member of the Hasbrouck
Heights emergency squad and the Hasbrouck Heights ambulance corps. Mr. Baker also served
on the boroughs Planning Board and was a member of the Hasbrouck Heights Band
Parents Association, Boy Scout Troop 68, the Cub Scouts, and Little League.
He had been a sergeant in the New
Jersey National Guard, 50th Armored Division, enlisting in September 1947 and
serving for nine years.
Survivors include his wife of 50
years, Bernice; six daughters; two son, and 18 grandchildren. Most of the Bakers live in
Hasbrouck Heights.
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Message from Chief Baker Biography
Shopper Obituary Funeral
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