Robina Baker, or Ruby as she was fondly known, was born in the tiny fishing village of Burghead in the remote north of Scotland. Her family were strict Presbyterians and her early years were devoid of many of the pleasures she enjoyed in later life - gaudy jewellery, brightly coloured clothes, cigarettes (until she finally quit in her 90s), a glass of wine and even the occasional naughty joke.
When Ruby was just 16, her family immigrated to the Peace River country in northern Alberta to homestead. After completing high school in Spirit River, Alta., and then her teacher's certificate in Edmonton, Ruby, still a teenager, began teaching in Spirit River.
In 1932, Ruby married Ted Baker. They had three daughters, Kathleen, Patricia and Alexandra.
Ruby's distinguished teaching career in Alberta lasted more than 35 years, culminating in her appointment as principal of Devon Elementary School. On her retirement in 1974, the school was renamed Robina Baker Elementary School. She proudly continued to attend events at the school, including a celebration on the date of her 100th birthday, when students and staff lit 100 candles in cupcakes as they sang Happy Birthday to her.
Along the way, Ruby graduated from the University of Alberta, where she realized she was just as smart as the other students. Indeed she was sharp as a tack, right to the very end of her days. Her love of reading and learning was infectious and no doubt contributed to her extraordinary success in the classroom.
Ruby's talent as a teacher was captured in a letter of condolence to the family from one of her former pupils: "[Mrs. Baker]was my sixth grade teacher. I think the year was 1967. That year, I loved school. Her enthusiasm was contagious. She found something worthwhile in every child and found a way to let that child shine. I think everyone liked school that year. It was a good place to be. That year I decided that I would be a teacher. She inspired me and I am forever grateful."
That student is currently a teacher at Robina Baker Elementary School.
Ruby was mild mannered, but in her later years she would not abide being patronized. On a recent shopping outing, when asked by a snooty sales associate if there was something she was looking for, she replied: "Yes, a very rich elderly bachelor with a weak heart."
The Devon Dispatch newspaper said it best when it wrote under the headline "Town Loses Legend" - "To thousands of students she was known as Mrs. Baker, to her many friends and colleagues she was known as Ruby. To all who knew her, she was an inspiration."
Rowland Harrison is Ruby's son-in-law.