This fundraiser was created by friends of the Baker Family to help them as they begin to navigate the loss of their wife and mother.  We feel helpless to ease their pain, but we would like to help provide for the future educational needs of the Baker children.    

Please make a donation today to show the Baker Family they are surrounded with love and support, and that we are standing with them.  100% of the money raised will be placed into an educational fund for the Baker children.

In addition to this online fundraiser, we are hosting a dinner at the Trading Post in Fort Langley, BC on July 13th for those in our local community who wish to support the family .  Click here for details and ticket information.

This beautiful article about Nicola was published in the Peace Arch News: 

Nicola Baker was "born to be a teacher."

The South Surrey-raised mother of four also loved Slurpees, owned her mistakes and delighted in seeing her students grasp the math concepts she endeavoured to share.

"She was a brilliant teacher, a brilliant person; a leader in her family and a leader at the school," said Judy Henriques, Baker's aunt and a former teacher herself. "My kids grew up with her and she taught them how to read and write."

The 38-year-old died unexpectedly on June 6.

"In a nutshell, Nicola passed in her sleep," Henriques said. "At this point, we don't know exactly why."

Staff and students at Earl Marriott Secondary were shocked by the news Monday morning.

Baker had taught Grade 8 to 12 students in her time at the high school, but had mostly Grade 10s this past year, Henriques said.

One Grade 12 student described Baker as "one of the few people I knew that genuinely cared about doing right by those who depended on her."

"She was great at her job, and a lot of that came from her ability to understand students," said Ethan Peverley. "She saw that some were fortunate enough to immediately take in every bit of a lesson thrown at them, while others needed more time to fully soak everything in."

Peverley added that Baker "also dealt with troublemakers in the funniest way I've seen, as she'd say just the right things to make them question ever acting out."

Baker was the youngest of three sisters, and part of an "enormous" family that included at least two other teachers aside from Henriques. Baker's sister, Lori-Ann Weiss, is a science teacher at EMS.

Henriques, a South Surrey resident who is now acting director of instruction for the Surrey School District, described her niece as "a sweet soul" who took care of others, humble and pragmatic.

"While she was thoughtful, she could get the job done," she said.

Baker was also a "great storyteller," Henriques said.

"She would tell a story in a way that, you would've been there."

Baker is survived by her husband Sean, their four young children, her parents Mary and Philip Du Quesnay, sisters Lori-Ann Weiss and Rene Ridge and numerous other family.