Paul Stanley Baker, age 64, of Porter, Indiana, formerly of Muscatine, Iowa, died on Monday, December 2, 2011, at his home in Porter.

Paul was born on March 16, 1947, in Moline, Illinois, the son of Stanley M. and Katherine R. Hill Baker.

He is survived by his sister, Kay Baker Schroeder; brother-in- law, Kenneth Schroeder; niece, Janelle Schroeder; nephew, Paul Schroeder and his wife, Linda; one grand-niece, Holly Schroeder; one grand-nephew, Mason Schroeder; and will also be sadly missed by Robert, Louise, Daniel, Renee and Paul Albrecht-Mallenger.

He was a graduate of Muscatine High School, class of 1965, the Iowa State University, where he received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in chemistry, the Ray Vogue School of Photography, the Chicago Massage Therapy School, where he also taught and he also earned a general aviation pilot license.

He worked as a photographer for Carson Pirie Scott and then the Northwestern School of Dentistry (where he photographed Katherine Hepburn's teeth) before his final position in the Field Museum of Natural History's Development Department.

After retirement, he continued to volunteer at the Field Museum and would enthusiastically give anyone who asked for a tour (including Cher) the most fascinating insider's look at the institution about which he was so passionate.

Paul loved to sing and was a member of the New Renaissance Singers and chorus of the NW Indiana Symphony Orchestra. He was a movie buff and had encyclopedic knowledge of all things cinematic, but had a special love of black and white films.

An avid birder, Paul gave many hours to the Field Museum's Ornithology Department as well as the Ryerson Woods and Chicago Botanic Garden. He could tell the species and indigenous habits of a bird just from listening to a few notes of their song, and could point out the discrepancy in a movie between the haunting cry of a hawk and the fact that that particular species was never found in the geographic region where the scene was filmed.

He traveled extensively throughout the United States as well as abroad. His love of France led him to study at the French Institute Alliance Française. Paul was passionate about food, seeking out the new and interesting, fine and not-so-fine, wherever he went.

But it was his skill at photography that combined and captured all of these interests. His pictures are beautiful, artistic and reflective of the curiosity which with he lived his life.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, December 9, 2011, at the Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home. Burial will take place in Greenwood Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 9 to 11 a.m. on Friday, December 9, 2011, at the funeral home.

Online condolences for the Baker family may be left at www.wittichfuneralhome.com