Hand in hand for 49 years

RANGELY I Working hard, playing hard, and doing it all together is one of the keys for success in Darryle and Sue Baker’s 49 years of marriage. They came from very modest beginnings to now enjoying the comforts of retirement on “Baker’s Acres” and said, “Rangely has been good to us, we are where we are now because of this town.”
Darryle was born in Oklahoma. His family came to Rangely when he was 5 years old. His father, Cecil, and his father’s friend, Slick Ingram, a full-blood Cherokee, heard there was money to be made in Colorado. When they arrived in Rangely, Slick said he was going back but Cecil didn’t have the money to get back, he had to stay. The family lived in a sheepherder’s camp with no running water or restroom.
Darryle slept on the table that made into a bed but they managed to get a start. They lived in Bonanza for Darryle’s sixth, seventh and eighth grade years and then moved to Blue Mountain for his last years of school. His father worked for a drilling company and eventually started his own business, Baker Well Service. Darryle graduated in 1960 and worked for different drilling companies including his father’s. He said, “I got fired or quit every week for Baker’s Well Service.”
Sue added, “He had to quit when hunting season came along.”
Hard work was and still is second nature to Darryle. They took over Baker’s Well Service in 1976 until he retired and sold the business in 2002. They also owned Sure Safe and were partners in Sundance RV in Vernal. From a sheep camp to a summer cabin, Darryle has been an example of working hard for a better life.
Sue was raised in Gateway, Colo., one of five girls born to Ike and Alice Hubbard. Ike and his brother ran the Hubbard ranch until they sold it to the owner of the Discovery Channel. They moved up Coach Creek near the Colorado Monument. She attended a small school house in Glade Park. The small cabin her family lived in had no running water and her dad would take a trip to town twice a year for supplies. Ike was a strict man and extremely frugal. Sue certainly learned discipline and developed a work ethic, along with an appreciation for small things. Her dad got bleeding ulcers and the family had to move to Grand Junction when Sue was in fifth grade, and then to Rangely for her seventh grade year. She was graduated from Rangely High School in 1963.
Ike and Alice Hubbard were in the cattle business until he retired and pursued his love for race horses. He came home from a horse sale with a horse that looked “extremely rough.” The stud needed a great deal of care to get him to racing condition. The horse turned out to be “Silver Lute,” their most successful horse, later sold to the Watsons where he continued his racing success.
Darryle and Sue met at the drugstore in Meeker. The two started dating and the rules were strictly set by Ike Hubbard.
“It took me all day to get up the nerve to ask him (Ike) if I could marry his daughter, and when I did he said, ‘I thought you’d never ask,’” Darryle said. Darryle and Sue were married in 1963 and have remained by each other’s side ever since. They have three children: Lonnie of Rangely, Darren (Connie) of Bayfield, and Chris (Dianna) of Vernal, Utah. They have six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. They are proud of all their children and have always enjoyed activities as a family, from motorcycles, to snowmobiles, to boating and beyond. They have instilled a work ethic and core values that continue to provide success for the family. Sue’s passion for life radiates from her, she is absolutely happy to have each day, and she beams with pride when talking about her family.
Darryle and Sue currently live in Baxter Springs on part of the original land homesteaded by Fanny Baxter. They still get mail in the same box they did when they were first married. The two enjoy a summer cabin up the White River, and travel some to see family. They are proof that hard work certainly pays off, they have owned and operated successful businesses, built a foundation for a family that remains strong, and have done it all hand in hand.