By Margaret A. McGurk
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Patricia Baker's dreams came true.

"It was one of her long, long, long standing goals in life to live in New York and work on Broadway," said Ms. Baker's daughter Denys. "She managed to accomplish both before she got sick."

Ms. Baker died in New York City Feb. 23 from cervical cancer. She was 68.

Ms. Baker grew up in Madison Place and graduated from Withrow High School. While raising two children, she became a fixture on the local theater circuit as an actress and costumer with Mariemont Players, Footlighters, Showboat Majestic, La Comedia Dinner Theatre, Cincinnati Music Theatre, Terrace Park Players, and many others.

In 1981, she moved to Tennessee and performed in dinner theater before taking a job with Hospital Corporation of America in Nashville. She later moved to Wilmington, Del., and worked for CitiSteel USA.

When she retired and moved to New York she went to work for Roundabout Theatre Company, then joined Local 764 of the wardrobers union as a dresser. In that post, she worked with Juliette Binoche and Marisa Berenson when they appeared at Roundabout.

Roundabout will commemorate Ms. Baker by dimming its marquee lights at 8 p.m. tonight.

"My mom lived a remarkable life," said her daughter, a professional theater company manager. "I learned so much about her in the hospital. I always knew she had a sense of humor, but didn't realize it was the core of her being."

Ms. Baker spent her final days listening to music, watching movies, laughing with her daughter and charming hospital personnel. A doctor who checked in often "didn't say `I'm here to adjust your medication,' " Denys Baker recalled. "She'd say `I'm here for the show.' "

In addition to her daughter, Ms. Baker is survived by a son, Brad, a theater professor in Plano, Texas, and a sister, Ellenor Flint of Florida.

"We're not doing a funeral," said Ms. Baker's daughter. "We're not having a memorial. We're throwing a party."

Afterward, in accordance with Ms. Baker's wish, family members will scatter her cremated ashes on Times Square.

Memorials: St. Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center, 325 W. 15th Street, New York, 10011.

E-mail mmcgurk@enquirer.com