Bob Baker, 67, former LA Times journalist

The staff of the Los Angeles Times was notified this afternoon that a longtime colleague, Bob Baker, died this morning after fighting a succession of illnesses in recent years. He was 67.

Bob worked for the Times for 26 years, as a reporter and editor in the San Fernando Valley and later in Metro and on the city desk downtown. He left in 2004 to pursue his dreams of becoming a novelist and a songwriter. He also was an occasional contributor to LA Observed, writing cheekily in a 2009 satire that then-publisher Eddy Hartenstein would try to save the LA Times with topless girls.

He actually quite loved the paper and being around reporters. Bob enjoyed developing young reporters and he wrote about the process of news gathering and writing in a book, Newsthinking: The Secret of Making Your Facts Fall Into Place. He also served as a writing coach and mentor at the Times and for other newspapers.

Bob co-authored the autobiography of Los Angeles R&B radio legend Magnificent Montague, "Burn, Baby! BURN!," after locating and profiling Montague in the Times.

Baker graduated from Monroe High School in North Hills and Cal State Northridge, where he was an editor of the Daily Sundial student newspaper. He reported for the Thousand Oaks News Chronicle before joining the LA Times in the small Van Nuys office that staffed the San Fernando Valley before the paper launched a full daily edition in the Valley.

Bob also loved music and played in a band, Blue Cube. A memorial has been scheduled for Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Rusty's Surf Ranch, the venue on Santa Monica Pier where Blue Cube frequently played.

Bob is survived by his wife Marjorie and their daughter Amanda.