Evelyn Elizabeth Baker

Evelyn Elizabeth (Meyer) Baker, age 80, passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in South Chatham on August 1, 2026 after a long battle with Lewy Body Dementia and Parkinson’s Disease.
Evelyn was born in Manhattan, NY on September 12,1945 to German immigrants, Adolph Carl Meyer of Dusseldorf, Germany and Cita (Walter) Meyer of Schluchtern, Germany.  Her parents were proud to raise their family in New York City where they knew their daughters we’re being brought up in the land of opportunity. 
Evelyn graduated from Mother Cabrini High School on the upper west side of Manhattan in 1963 and went on to study at Hunter College in New York where she majored in Psychology. She then went on to get her Master’s Degree in Developmental Psychology from Teacher’s College at Columbia University in 1969. After graduation, Evelyn moved to a beautiful apartment in Weehawken, NJ that overlooked the Hudson River. She commuted to the city every day in her red VW convertible bug, where she worked for the renowned psychiatrist, Dr. Nathan Kline.
She then went on to work for The World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland for seven years, at a time when mental health was becoming recognized as an integral part of overall health. During her time at WHO, she traveled around the world working with ambassadors from many countries on projects that were focused on how the human environment impacts both mental and physical health. Before leaving, she helped to launch a research study that focussed on collecting data regarding the mental health of children around the world. 
Evelyn met the love the of her life, Gordon, in the summer of 1964 when her family was vacationing in Chatham and rented the Baker cottage. They would fondly recall how their first glimpse of each other was when Gordon was chasing a tennis ball on his grandfather’s old clay court and that was the beginning of a summer romance that would last a life time. They married in 1980 and had two daughters, Heather and Elizabeth. 
Gordon and Evelyn did everything together, from mowing lawns to scalloping, she was always by his side and supported her family in so many different capacities. She enjoyed visiting family in New York City, New Jersey, Prince Edward Island and Northern New Brunswick, Canada. Evelyn believed that family was the most important thing. Being with her girls was her greatest joy. A proud New Yorker, Evelyn wanted them to experience the diversity and culture of the world around them and visiting her home town allowed her to provide experiences that went beyond the safe coastal town they grew up in. 
Music was always incredibly important in Evelyn’s life, from her high school days playing the glockenspiel and marching in the New York City St. Patricks Day Parade to her love of Elvis “The King” and Rod Stewart to the Friday night Chatham Band Concerts, Evelyn always had a song in her heart and sang from her soul. 
When her girls were young, Evelyn volunteered as a Girl Scout leader and a Sunday School teacher, and in most recent years was the President of the Village Hall Family Circle in South Chatham. Evelyn was a self proclaimed perfectionist, dedicated, hard working, and believed that you can do anything you set your mind to. 
Being a grandmother and an integral part of her five grandkid’s daily lives was one of her proudest roles. She loved spending time with them and they loved spending time with her whether it was reading, singing, or playing games. She would often refer to to her grandkids as her medicine bottles because the love and joy they gave her was healing in so many ways. She reminded us time and time again to, “Enjoy every moment, because it goes so fast!” 
Evelyn is survived by her loving husband Gordon; daughter Heather Deveau and her husband Brian and their children, Grace, Jacob & Lucas; daughter Elizabeth Packard and her husband Matthew and their children Charlotte & Alexander, all of South Chatham; sister Marlene Bergenn of Leonia, NJ and her daughters Kristine Wood and Bridget VanDeWeghe who were always very close to her along with other nieces and nephews, and relatives, both here in the US and in Germany. 
Evelyn’s funeral service will be held at the South Chatham Community Church on September 12, 2026 at 1pm followed by a Celebration of her Life at the South Chatham Village Hall. Her burial was held for the immediate family at the South Chatham Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to the Alzheimer’s Family Support Center of Cape Cod (which supports families navigating memory loss diseases), Broad Reach Hospice of Chatham, or The Village Hall Family Circle, PO Box 212 South Chatham, MA 02659.