Obituary: Philip Greeley Baker
May 2, 1944 – March 15, 2026
May 16, 2026 Philip Greeley Baker, longtime resident of Waterbury, Vermont, and most recently a resident of Venice, Florida, passed away at the age of 81 on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in the loving company of his two daughters, Nicole Rose and Katie Higgins.
Philip Greeley Baker, 1944-2026
Phil was born on May 2, 1944, in Brattleboro, Vermont. He was the third of six children born to Newton and Elaine Baker of Wilmington, Vermont. He spent most of his life living in Waterbury and graduated from Waterbury High School in 1962. He received his bachelor's degree from Stetson University, where he worked as a French teacher in 1966, and spent the 1964 academic year studying at the University of Strasbourg, France, where he celebrated his 21st birthday. He also studied at Emory University and the University of Maine, before completing his education by receiving his master's degree from the University of Vermont in 1971. Prior to completing his master's, he was employed as a French teacher at Lamoille Union and was the Foreign Language Department Chairman at Harwood Union High School from 1969 to 1976.
He left the field of education and opened PGB Plantings, his own landscaping business, in 1976. He was well known for his extraordinary “green thumb” and not only created magazine picture-worthy flowerbeds at his own residences, but also did considerable gardening for many friends and local businesses in Waterbury and beyond. In 1983, he joined The Vermont Realty Exchange, where he was a realtor until 1998. In 1999, he started working at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters before retiring in 2011.
An avid sports enthusiast his entire life, Phil played four years each of high school and college soccer. He was proud to be one of the only freshmen to make the team at Stetson University, where his parents would occasionally make the trip all the way from Vermont to watch him play, during one of which games he scored a goal. He also played high school basketball and was a baseball manager for three years. Other high school activities included Boys' State, being class president for three years, and president of Student Council and French Club.
He continued his soccer career by coaching the boys' junior varsity soccer team for a number of years at Harwood Union. After coaching, he became a member of the Vermont Soccer Officials Association in 1977. In 1983, he started refereeing at the collegiate level. As in other areas of his life, he handled criticism from coaches or fans with a witty tongue, often responding to complaints of his calls with responses such as, “well there's another blown chance at a perfect game.”
Philip married Karen Hoskiewicz on June 20, 1970. Together they had two daughters, Nicole Ann in 1975, and Katie Noel in 1977. They enjoyed many years together gathering with family and friends, traveling to Cape Cod, and playing golf at Blush Hill Country Club. They divorced in 1990 but remained good friends to the present day and still continued to celebrate holidays and gatherings and take family vacations together.
He started “snow-birding” between Vermont and Florida in 2014, before moving there full-time in 2021. Philip’s lifelong dream to escape the cold temps of the north became a reality when he purchased his home at Country Club Estates in Venice, Florida, where he was surrounded by a plethora of good friends and outdoor activities. He spent days playing pickleball, riding his bike, gardening, participating in water clean-up for the City of Venice, doing beach yoga, and looking for shark teeth on the area beaches.
He weathered three hurricanes in the last five years and still loved the Country Club Estates community enough to call it his home. He was living his best life there, even winning a pickleball game with a long-time friend on the Friday afternoon before his passing.
For enjoyment, Phil loved watching sports, whether college, professional, or those of his daughters and grandchildren. His favorite teams included the Boston Red Sox, UCONN women's basketball, and the New England Patriots. He also enjoyed watching professional golf, and despite his lack of patience whilst playing, played at the amateur level, with his biggest claim to fame in the sport being a hole in one on the fourth hole at Blush Hill Country Club.
His other interests included travel, reading – particularly historical or political genres – crossword puzzles, bird-watching, and battling squirrels and woodchucks. He had a sense of humor that was often the life of the party. He made everyone laugh, ordering quarts, as opposed to pints offered on the menu, just to make staff do the conversion. He had a love and appreciation for cheese, from the very best Cabot to Cheez Whiz in a jar.
For nearly 40 years, he loved going to Woody's Venison Saloon Deer Camp, sometimes three or four times a year. He looked forward to the camaraderie, having a few beers/drinks and stories with good friends and neighboring camps, although he seldom remembered to bring his gun, and certainly shot more bull than he did deer.
Philip is survived by his daughter Nicole and son-in-law, Matt Rose of Bridport, Vermont, daughter Katie and son-in-law Jeff Higgins of Brookfield, Vermont; grandchildren, Chase, Tanner and Mia Higgins of Brookfield; and siblings Diane Harper in Burnt Hills, New York, Newton and Diane Baker in Montpelier, Vermont, Martha Fiske of Waterbury Center, Brenda and Louie Messier of Waterbury, Don and Maureen Baker in Ketchum, Idaho, as well as many nieces, nephews and cousins.
A memorial service will be held at the Waterbury Congregational Church, 8 North Main St., on July 18 at 11 a.m. It will be immediately followed by a Celebration of Life at Farr's Field located at 1901 U.S. Route 2 in Waterbury.
Although his passing was sudden and unexpected, we take comfort in knowing he was living his best life in Florida, on his terms, doing the things he loved and surrounded by so many wonderful friends. In lieu of flowers, please consider planting a bush or a shrub in his memory, per his request.