Barend Hendrik BAKKER

BAREND HENDRIK BAKKER (Bard) September 12, 1934 - March 2, 2023 Bard passed away suddenly in his home at Kensington Place Retirement Residence in Toronto. He leaves his devoted wife of sixty-four years, Sonia Bakker (nee Cavell). Loving father to Michael (Jessica), Pamela, and Gillian (Jean-François). Adoring Opa to Caitlin (Tess). Predeceased by his parents, Cornelis Marinus (Kees) and Anna Maria Bakker (nee Van Ammers); and his cherished sister, Annamarie Hodge. He is survived by his brothers, Wout Bakker and Joost Bakker. Bard was born in Hilversum, Holland. The family moved to Curaçao in 1940, remaining there until 1952. Some of his happiest times were spent on the beach there with his siblings and with his beloved cousin, Geert Groote. The family then moved to Toronto, and he attended Upper Canada College for his last year of High School. One of his biggest passions throughout life was music - he was a flautist, studying with Jean-Pierre Rampal, and playing in Toronto in his early years at Hart House and alongside Hagood Hardy and Robert (Bob) Aitken. He played for thirty years in the Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra. Sonia and Bard were loyal Toronto Symphony Orchestra subscribers for many decades. They instilled a deep love and appreciation for music in their three children. He received his BA, (Trinity College, 5T6) MA, and PHD, all from The University of Toronto. He studied at The Sorbonne University in Paris in 1957, and also obtained a High School Teacher's Certificate at The Ontario College of Education in Toronto. Sonia and Bard met at Trinity College and were later married in the chapel there on August 29, 1958. Over their lives they enjoyed travel greatly, visiting an extensive array of destinations in the Caribbean, Europe, and North America. Bard was a Master and House Master at Trinity College School in Port Hope, and taught at Indiana University, Bloomington and Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo. He also taught French at University College, University of Toronto. Both he and Sonia taught languages for several years at Thornton Hall (a private school in Toronto, which closed its doors in 1997). He began his professorship at Glendon College of York University teaching French Literature in the college's early days in the 1960s. In 1973 Bard was cross-appointed to The University of Toronto to head a unique academic research endeavor. The Zola Research Project garnered international attention and much favorable press over the years. Working alongside a sister project in Paris, France, the Canadian team, led by Bard, accumulated all of the private letters written by the well-known French author Émile Zola. This publication of ten volumes is considered to this day to be the definitive collection of Zola's private writings. Bard continued to teach part-time at Glendon throughout the life of The Zola Project, until its conclusion in 1995. Bard was an invited guest speaker/lecturer at many academic conferences around the world, including the prestigious Pèlerinage littéraire de Médan in France. (The place of one of Zola's homes). He spent one term as a Visiting Fellow at Wolfson College of Cambridge University and authored numerous additional papers and articles on Zola and other modern language authors and topics. Some of the family's most interesting adventures and education occurred during his sabbatical leave years, including one lived in Aix-en-Province in the south of France, and another spent in The Hague, Holland and Nogent-Sur-Marne near Paris. He took early retirement from York University in 1995: he heard the west coast calling and set out to start his next chapter in British Columbia. There he would discover a new passion - film photography. Throughout his twenty-seven years spent in Victoria, Sidney and then on Hornby Island, he produced an incredible array of beautiful slide shows, greeting cards, postcards and calendars. He travelled all over western Canada, the USA, and Mexico in his camper, always in search of the perfect shot. The happiest part of his photographic career was time spent enjoying the mentorship and dear friendship of Sharron Millstein and her husband Gerald Hodge of Hornby Island. He also hosted a regular classical music radio program on CHFR-FM 96.5, Hornby Island Radio. He enjoyed countless days hiking and listening to nature - he discovered a peace of mind that those who have been to this magical place understand. Despite geography, Sonia and Bard remained close during the years he was out west. He decided to return to Toronto in June of 2022, having wanted for many years to be once again at her side. We will be eternally grateful that they had eight happy and close months together before he left us for the last time. Bard and his daughter-in-law Jess had a special bond. He held a unique place for her in his heart. We will never forget the love she showed for him, especially during the challenges that the pandemic provided. Our gratitude to all of the staff and teams at Kensington Place for their loving care, especially Janice, Salve, Teo, Suin, Ace, Donna, Fatimah, Wendy, and Susan. In particular we wish to express our deep appreciation for the care and attention of our PSWs Janice, Daisy, and Helen, not only to Bard, but also ongoing to Sonia. And finally, our eternal gratitude to the entire supportive community of Hornby Island during dad's time there, most especially to his incredible neighbor, Charmaine Chartrand. Family and friends please join us at a celebration of Bard's life at The Kane-Jerrett Funeral Home, 6191 Yonge Street, Toronto (416-223-6050) on Saturday, May 13, 2023. Visitation begins at 1 p.m., followed by a service at 2, and reception afterwards. The service will be webcast via the funeral home. Interment will take place at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery on a date soon after. Memorial donations may be made to: the Heron Rocks Friendship Centre Society on Hornby Island https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/heron-rocks-friendship-centre-society/ or to The Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra https://www.eporchestra.ca/ Condolences may be left, and webcast service information found, at: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/toronto-on/barend-bakker-11182231