In Memoriam: Janet Baker

FEBRUARY 4, 2021 BY CHRIST CHURCH MEXICO

From the family of Janet Baker, our beloved and longtime active parishioner, who died in Mexico City on January 31, 2021.

Janet was born in 1940 in Luton, England, the elder of two sisters.

She said the rationing during the war and long-after left her with a lifelong appreciation of food and saving and reusing anything she could.

As a young adult looking for opportunities, she became a secretary with the British foreign service. Her most memorable posting was Russia, where she worked in a soundproof room to avoid sensitive information being overheard. Looking for a preferably warmer change, she chose to be transferred to Mexico. She arrived on a cargo ship in Veracruz and made her way inland to Mexico City. Mexico, as fate would have it, would be her final destination as she met her future husband, Ray Baker, at an Embassy party. A match made in heaven because “she cooked” and “he had a car.” One of the highlights of their wedding was making a traditional English wedding fruitcake in a bathtub. The young couple settled into married life and soon had three children to keep them busy. Simon is the eldest, followed by Carolyn and last, but not least, Christina.

The next phase of her life included founding the Lancaster School together with a group of determined parents. The school started with a handful of students, and there were often fundraisers where Janet’s baking became legendary and much sought after. Friends quickly learnt that they could come over to our house and head straight to the kitchen in search of the cookie bin. Everyone who came over was warmly welcomed and they knew that there was always a place for them at her home, along with some amazing home-cooked meals. Many of the comidas hosted there are fondly remembered by numerous friends. Janet was not the life of the party, but she was the glue that held it together, attending to all the details and making sure everyone was well looked after. Probably why she and her husband made a good match.

She much enjoyed painting, a good read, or an interesting television documentary. But she would happily trade them in for a good game of bridge and gossip with her friends any day. Through all the years that Janet lived in Mexico she made long lasting bonds with people she met through the Embassy, Lancaster School, Christ Church, Book Club, and bridge.

She will be dearly missed by many, but especially by her sister Meryl, her three, children (Well, six, as she took all the spouses to heart) and 11 – yes 11 – grandchildren.

We have set up a memorial Website. Please feel free to check in and share a memory, anecdote, photo – whatever is your heart’s desire

https://www.forevermissed.com/janet-baker