{"id":4428,"date":"2023-06-12T13:37:23","date_gmt":"2023-06-12T18:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/obituaries\/?p=4428"},"modified":"2023-09-18T13:20:11","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T18:20:11","slug":"barbara-curtis-baker-61","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/obituaries\/2023\/06\/12\/barbara-curtis-baker-61\/","title":{"rendered":"Barbara Curtis Baker ’61"},"content":{"rendered":"\n



A Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, November 20, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. at Dennis Union Church, 713 Main Street, Dennis, Massachusetts. Reception to follow.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Barbara Curtis Baker died peacefully on June 12, 2023, surrounded by her family.

Daughter of Orman and Marylouise Curtis, Barbara was born on May 27, 1943, in Northampton, Massachusetts. She grew up with brothers Richard and Jeffrey in Easthampton, next to the Williston Northampton School, a proximity that would lead to a life-long relationship with the school. She attended the Northampton School for Girls, then went on to receive degrees in early childhood education from Wheelock College (BA) and Smith College (MA). During her first stint teaching in Washington, DC, she met Ellis Baker, her husband of 56 years, who was a career educator at the Williston Northampton School. After their first meeting, Ellis claims he said to a colleague, \u201cThat\u2019s the girl I\u2019m going to marry\u201d — and marry her he did on August 5, 1967, in the Williston Chapel. They raised their four children, Lisa, Carrie, Ben and Adam, committing their lives to their family and the surrounding community, finding joy in supporting their children\u2019s endeavors. Her lifelong passion educating young people, Barbara taught at Smith College\u2019s Center for Early Childhood Education at Fort Hill for decades, shaping classroom learning experiences for three and four year olds, while mentoring student teachers. Barbara served on the Williston Northampton School\u2019s Alumni Council and Board of Trustees before retiring to Cape Cod in Brewster, Massachusetts, where she and Ellis walked the Brewster flats, became members of the Dennis Union Church, volunteered their time at Eventide Arts, enjoyed family reunions, and traveled to care for their grandchildren. Barbara loved grandparenting as much as she loved teaching, her belief in the critical importance of an excellent early education manifested intimately. To the end of her life, Barbara shared her smile and warmth with all around her, including her caregivers, a legacy of love that lives on in her children and grandchildren.

Barbara leaves behind her husband Ellis Baker ’51 and her children, their spouses, and nine grandchildren: Lisa Baker ’89 and Tarim Chung, Malia, Thea, and Siri; Carrie Baker ’92 and Drago\u015f Vas, C\u0103lin and Ana; Ben and Robin Baker, Rachel (and husband Richard) and Jane; and Adam Baker and Chris Chandler, Levi and Oliver. She also leaves behind her brothers Richard ’63 and Jeffrey Curtis, and Richard\u2019s wife Donna Curtis.

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A Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, November 20, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. at Dennis Union Church, 713 Main Street, Dennis, Massachusetts. Reception to follow. Barbara Curtis Baker died peacefully on June 12, 2023, surrounded by her family. Daughter of Orman and Marylouise Curtis, Barbara was born on May 27, 1943, in Northampton, … Continue reading Barbara Curtis Baker ’61<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[166,72],"class_list":["post-4428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1960s","tag-class-of-1961","tag-northampton-school-for-girls"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/obituaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4428"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/obituaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/obituaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/obituaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/obituaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4428"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/obituaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4501,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/obituaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4428\/revisions\/4501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/obituaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/obituaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/obituaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}