ST. MARIES - The locals call it living in the Benewah.

It's the term they coined for people who live outside St. Maries off a county road.

Vernon Baker lived miles out in the Benewah, and in the last few years people in town saw him less and less as his health slipped. But the World War II veteran was a source of pride for the town, even as his stop ins became less frequent.

He was a hero to them, but a neighbor, too. And to lose him is a loss for everyone, neighbors said.

"He was a dynamic, outgoing person and we had the honor of having him in the community," said Jim Shubert, a friend of Baker's for 18 years, who lives in St. Maries.

"He was a person who was comfortable around people and made people comfortable around him. If you met him it was like you knew him for years."

Those who knew Baker described a polite, gracious man who would swing into town to run errands, chatting store owners up and down Main Avenue.

"He loved pens, and he had beautiful handwriting," said Margie Bentcik, an employee for 31 years of The Paperhouse, a book and office supply store. "That was his thing, pens and ink."

And if you didn't know, you'd never suspect Baker had received such high accolades, or had a book written about him.

"He lived here how many years before anyone knew?" said Alex Barta, Paperhouse owner.

Baker, an avid hunter, chose to live near St. Maries for its beauty and friendly people. It was the one place people never stared or judged him for being different, the war hero used to say.

That resonates with locals.

"Race or creed or color, that didn't make any difference," said Gene Hedlung, who used to own the True Value Hardware store when Baker would pop in for supplies. "He was a nice guy ... The sad thing of it is he wasn't recognized a long time ago."

"He was a gentleman, and a man's man," said Ed Spooner, longtime St. Maries City Councilman. "He was great for a small town. He would have been great for any town."

Outgoing, friendly, but a private person, too, who kept to himself and his family. Those who didn't know him personally, knew of him. Despite his high profile, he kept his privacy.

"The Vernon I knew was private," said Dan Hammes, publisher of the local newspaper, the Gazette Record. "Not embarrassed by the attention, but maybe a little uncomfortable at times with all the attention."

The attention included around 15 stories the local paper did on him. But Hammes, who was first notified of Baker's Medal of Honor award when the New York Times called his office, said Baker stayed humble despite the demand to reach him. When Baker unlisted his phone number, people would call the paper to track it down.

But not a recluse by any means, and a few stops in St. Maries everyone still remembers, like the two-hour wait when Baker had a book signing two years ago at the Paperhouse. And at the last Christmas parade, which ushered up the same Main Avenue Baker ran his errands, where the hero rode in the front as grand marshal.

"It was really wonderful to see him there," remembered Martha Vail. "We had all our veterans in the truck behind him and it was at night time and he was sitting there and everyone would go up to the Jeep and wave at him and he had the biggest smile on his face."

"He was a wonderful man," she said.