Allison Baker, Austin philanthropist and volunteer leader, dies at 65

Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American-Statesman
Allison Dickson Baker, a lawyer, lobbyist, mother, marathon runner and philanthropist who organized food donations and volunteer efforts for disadvantaged youth and their families for nearly four decades in Austin, died Thursday morning. She was 65.
Allison Dickson Baker, a lawyer, lobbyist, mother, marathon runner and philanthropist who organized food donations and volunteer efforts for disadvantaged youth and their families for nearly four decades in Austin, died Thursday morning. She was 65.

Allison Dickson Baker, a lawyer, lobbyist, mother and longtime philanthropist who organized food donations and volunteer efforts for disadvantaged youth and their families in Austin, died Thursday morning. She was 65.

She and her husband, lawyer Steve Baker, were struck by a vehicle while on a walk in Tarrytown. Steve Baker survived the crash with serious injuries.

Allison Baker was the founder of Cattlemen Care, a food-access nonprofit that facilitated cattle donations from ranchers, as well as the processing and distribution required to produce food for disadvantaged Austinites. She worked with organizations like the Boys & Girls Club to distribute meals throughout the city. She also organized hundreds of volunteers for that and other organizations.

She is remembered by many in joyful contrast: Though she was less than 5-foot-1 in stature, her drive and energy — similar to the hummingbird, the animal she most identified with — kept her active in civic projects throughout her adult life. She was a dedicated mother of four and a lifelong marathon runner.

“Everyone lives. But not everyone chooses to live every day,” said her son Temple Baker, 32. “She lived the way she thought matters, the way she thought was important.”

A makeshift memorial stands Sunday near the intersection of Greenlee and Hillview in Austin's Tarrytown neighborhood where Allison Baker and her husband, lawyer Steve Baker, were struck Thursday by a vehicle while on a walk.
A makeshift memorial stands Sunday near the intersection of Greenlee and Hillview in Austin's Tarrytown neighborhood where Allison Baker and her husband, lawyer Steve Baker, were struck Thursday by a vehicle while on a walk.

A life without ‘afterthoughts’

Allison Baker was born Mary Allison Dickson on June 29, 1959, in Austin. She was the daughter of Katherine and R. Temple Dickson III, a longtime Democratic state legislator representing rural West Texas communities. She grew up in Sweetwater, about 30 minutes from the family cattle ranch in Nolan County. She was the descendant of several generations of lawyers and legislators.

Allison Baker attended the University of Texas for her undergraduate studies and the University of Texas law school afterward. She met her husband in law school.

After graduation in 1984, she worked at the elite Houston law firm of Vinson and Elkins, where she was a successful environmental lawyer.

The family eventually moved back to Austin. She left her law career in 1997 after the birth of twins. After that, she dedicated herself to philanthropic and civic pursuits.

What would have been an “afterthought” to others, Allison Baker turned into her passion, said son Treeman Baker, 30.

In 2007, she founded Cattlemen Care, a nonprofit that worked to bring beef from ranches like her husband's to food-needy communities. Allison Baker worked to get slaughterhouses and processing plants to donate their efforts. At times, she also partnered with Patrick Terry of P-Terry’s to donate beef.

As burgers and breakfast tacos, the meals went to several local groups like Caritas, Settlement Home, the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, the Housing Authority of the City of Austin, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area.

In the end, Temple Baker estimated that the organization donated more than 100 tons of beef.

Temple and Treeman Baker said they remember their mother as a force at their childhood schools. At Austin High School, she was a dedicated volunteer in their school office, debate tournament concession stands, and with the football and baseball teams for which her sons played.

Allison Dickson Baker was noted for her volunteer activities.
Allison Dickson Baker was noted for her volunteer activities.

For years, she connected student athletes with volunteer opportunities at the Boys & Girls Club. She shuttled the Austin High football team’s starting 11 in her Ford Excursion to skill sessions for youth and organized hundreds more for the organization’s annual National Kids Day celebration. In total, former Austin Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Brian Beaulieu estimated that Allison Baker brought close to 1,000 Austin High volunteers to those celebrations.

“I think intrinsically she was one of those people who was able to get things done, who was not intimidated,” Beaulieu said. “People loved Allison, and so no one said no to Allison when she asked.”

Neighbor Shawn Jones said Allison Baker was a neighbor who cared deeply to know those around her and create community. Neighbors knew her for making bread and delivering flowers for others. She hosted a weekly women’s mahjong club at her home and routinely walked one friend down the block from her house to meet another.

Allison Dickson Baker was born in Austin but grew up in Sweetwater. She later graduated from the University of Texas and the UT Law School and became a successful environmental lawyer.
Allison Dickson Baker was born in Austin but grew up in Sweetwater. She later graduated from the University of Texas and the UT Law School and became a successful environmental lawyer.

At the time of her death, Allison Baker was five years into a terminal ovarian cancer diagnosis. Doctors told her in 2019 that she had months left to live.

But she remained active: walking daily, cultivating monarch butterfly gardens, hosting her mahjong club and planning philanthropic contributions.

“She never quit. There are those of us that are inconvenienced by minor things in (our) daily lives. That was nothing compared to what she went through,” said Catherine Miller, a friend of Allison Baker’s since law school. But “she was still enjoying her quality of life.”

Allison Baker is survived by her mother, Katherine; her husband Steve; and her children, Temple, Treeman, Cole and Katherine. She also leaves behind sisters Angie Dickson, Priscilla Primavera, and Maria Parigi, along with nine nieces and nephews.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin philanthropist and volunteer leader Allison Baker dies at 65

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