Tributes paid to Eric, a ‘unique gentleman’
‘UNIQUE’ and ‘true gentleman’ are just two of the tributes paid to Eric Baker, who has died at the age of 74.
The former college lecturer, magistrate, President of the Association of Speakers Clubs and Chairman of the Loughborough and District Table Tennis League won many friends after moving to the Charnwood area in 1999.
And he came with the highest possible recommendation when first introduced to his wife Patricia.
“I was told ‘Eric is unique’ and he was. We had the 30 happiest years of our lives together,” said Patricia, who discovered they had far more than the same surname in common.
Eric, then known as ‘Eric the Red’ due to his red hair and beard, was working for Acco UK, an international office products company with a head office in Aylesbury. He was made redundant in his 50s after moving to Quorn and changed his career to become a lecturer in communications at Clarendon College in Nottingham.
The abilities he showed teaching sales people led to him being taken on without any qualifications on the basis that he would study for a teaching degree while working, which he achieved at the age of 60 from Derby University.
His later life studies also led to Eric being made a Chair of the Nottingham bench of Magistrates and graduating up the ranks to become the National President of the Association of Speakers’ Clubs after joining Patricia as a member of the Loughborough club based at John Storer House.
He also renewed his passion for table tennis from his youth when he was in the winning team of the National Youth Clubs Table Tennis Championships to become a highly respected player in both the Loughborough and Leicester leagues and a coach for the Arthritis Society and students at Rawlins College in Quorn. He became Chairman of the Loughborough League in 2020.
Patricia told The Echo: “Eric was diagnosed with cancer last March. One consolation from the subsequent lockdown was being able to spend precious time together. “We had time to come to terms with what was to come, and Eric got his wish of dying at home.
“I’ve received cards, emails and flowers from all over the country. Eric was someone who could relate to anyone and nobody had a bad word to say about him.”
Loughborough table tennis colleague and league Vice Chairman Jordan Tweed described Eric as: “A true gentleman who was the perfect example of how to win gracefully and be humble in defeat. He was described in our club as ‘the nicest man in the Loughborough League’, a fitting tribute to a wonderful person.”
Patricia said she was planning to hold a memorial service for Eric when circumstances were more appropriate but in the meantime he will be going back to his home in Salisbury to a woodland burial site which is what he wanted.
I was told ‘Eric is unique’ and he was. We had the 30 happiest years of our lives together
Erik Baker’s widow, Patricia