Donald Arthur Baker (Don) (23 Dec 1931 - 11 Mar 2020)

In Loving Memory of Donald Baker (Don), who passed away on March 11th, 2020 aged 88 at the Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridgeshire.

Don is deeply missed by his partner Beryl, his sons and their families Kevin and Nigel, Naomi and Debs, his grandchildren Georgina, Henry and Mike and all his friends and his extended family.

Don was a beloved father and grandfather, he grew up during the war years in South London, was the only kid on his street to go to university, married his childhood sweetheart Audrey from a few streets away and together they travelled the world and raised their family and doted on their sons and grandchildren until Audrey sadly left us way too soon. Don was a wonderful husband to Audrey and father to his two sons and his grandchildren bestowing upon them all his legacy of values; of unconditional love and support for the people he cared about, in valuing education and respecting hard work, in ‘showing-up’ and overcoming problems, in achievement, in being compassionate and open-minded to change, questioning accepted wisdom, continually learning and being vehemently unpretentious; all through his long life. He completed a successful career first making mining explosives in South Africa and then in England with ECP and the longest part of his corporate career was at the center of the new technology of photocopier manufacturing with Rank Xerox. Don always knew that life-balance was vital, he always made time to be with his family and with his sons and his grandchildren and eagerly awaited the next opportunity; nothing better for him than rugby and cricket and attending all their sporting events and being present at the major milestones in their lives. His working life was rounded out with 30+ years, much of it alongside Audrey, helping to build what he proudly called the family business, with Nigel.

In the latter part of his life Don was fortunate enough to find his partner Beryl and they enjoyed a long life full of happy daily companionship that also included walking and a love of gardens, his bowling club, her exercise class and a significant measure of travel and adventure. Together they explored and visited many parts of the world by their favorite means of cruising. Don and Beryl’s partnership enriched both their lives and that of our family.

Don grew up playing games of dare in the street, collecting shrapnel, helping his father deliver milk and striving to make progress through education and determination and venturing. He was always restless, a distinctive, scintillating character, he could at times seem stubborn, idiosyncratic, provocative, and yet sharp, playful, un-pretentious, generous in every way, he was problem-solver, creative and completely passionate in pursuit of whatever he set his sights on. Above all his attributes he was about his family, his people. A true gentleman he always had time for the loves of his life, his sons, their partners and extended family and his grandkids.

His perpetual restlessness was a feature of life with him, he yearned to be in action, not much for books, or films/movies or tv he would sleep through those but if you wanted work to be done or a problem to be solved he was always first to get to it, he liked big-scale, if you wanted a wall taken down he was your man; painting not so much. He maintained his youthful energy and approach throughout. Beryl and he were cruising to Iceland as recently as October last year and he was planning a mezzanine floor in the factory and a new bathroom in his house, only two months ago.

Perhaps the measure of any person is the way they live and love, with and through others and the way they face life’s greatest challenges. Don is our particular hero, he gave himself to all of us and now we honor his memory forever. We hope through this you can feel it.

A funeral for Don will take place at Cambridge Crematorium on April 3rd, at 1:30pm. With the current restrictions we are unable to invite people to be physically present however there will be a video of the ceremony available within a few days, which we can share.

Donations in lieu of flowers, please mention Don’s name, to Royal Papworth Hospital and/or the British Heart Foundation, details can be found elsewhere on this page.

View Don’s pictures by clicking this link: https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0fJtdOXmJ0selM