Paul Franciscus de Bakker died at camp on June 2, 2026, at the age of 78.
He was born on July 26, 1947, in Terneuzen, Zeeland, the Netherlands, to August and Emma (de Ryk) de Bakker. In January 1948, his parents set sail for a new life in Canada, carrying baby Paul in a wicker basket. August and Emma’s siblings, who were already in southern Ontario, helped them get settled.
After starting as sharecroppers, by 1955 August and Emma had saved enough for a downpayment on a tobacco farm on the shore of Lake Erie, near the village of West Lorne. Paul loved farm life and absorbed his parents’ values of working hard and pulling together as a family.
He attended SS4 Aldborough and West Elgin Secondary School. Sadly, his mother Emma died while Paul was in Grade 13. Even though he could have used Paul’s help on the farm, his father—who had received only a rudimentary education in the Netherlands—encouraged Paul to go to university.
Paul graduated from the University of Waterloo with a B.Sc. (Chemistry) in 1970 and went on to the new medical school at McMaster, where he was a member of the second graduating class, becoming an MD in 1973. He completed his Family Practice residency in northern Ontario through McMaster’s Northwestern Ontario Medical Program, where he was mentored by Dr. John Augustine and Dr. Peter Neelands, among others. His first job as a doctor was in the Emergency Room at St. Joseph’s General Hospital, Thunder Bay in 1975.
He married Deborah Nickerson on December 23, 1976, and set up a family practice with his father-in-law, Dr. John Nickerson, on May 30, 1977, at the Thunder Bay Medical Centre. They were later joined by Dr. Pramila Rao, and the practice gradually evolved into what is now the Superior Family Health Organization.
Paul was an old-style family doctor, making rounds every day at the hospital, seeing patients in the emergency room and delivering babies at all hours. He loved getting to know his patients, in many cases several generations of the same family. He thrived in Thunder Bay’s collaborative medical environment, building lasting friendships with family practice and specialist colleagues, nurses, and other health care workers who pulled together to do their best for patients. He retired after 41 years of practice on May 30, 2018. In 2019, he received the Ontario Medical Association’s Glenn Sawyer Award in recognition of significant service at the community level.
After retirement, he had more time to chauffeur his grandchildren to their activities and to tend his garden and greenhouse at camp. He also learned to make jam and produced large quantities of “Grandpa Jam” from his raspberries. He joined the Maplecrest Pool Club and the Port Arthur Rotary Club, where he enjoyed the camaraderie and volunteer work at the Dew Drop Inn and the Salvation Army Journey to Life Centre Field of Greens. Every second Monday, he treasured an hour or two with the Retired Doctors Coffee Club.
Paul and Deborah were blessed with four children of whom he was very proud: Mary (Sandi Lukic), Peter (Jennifer Dagsvik), John (Jennifer Georgeson) and Martin (Maria Sanchez Garcia). He loved his ten amazing grandchildren: Luka, Sasha, Hazel, William, August, Nils, Mabel, George, Patrick and Thomas. Although his parting comment to them was likely to be “Come again when you can’t stay so long,” it was always said with a smile.
Paul was predeceased by his parents, a sister in infancy, grandson Hugo, sister-in-law Dawn Nickerson and brother-in-law Steve Elrick.
Although his family of origin had been small, he became an integral part of the larger Nickerson clan and was proud to be called “Senior Meathead.” In addition to his wife, children and grandchildren, he is survived by his brothers- and-sisters-in-law Mary Lou Kelley (John Cosgrove), George Nickerson (Sandy Forsyth), Catherine Nickerson (Brian King), Joan Duke (John Duke) and Susan Nickerson (Josh Croisetiere) and their families.
A memorial service will be held at St. Paul’s Anglican Church on Friday June 12 at 11 a.m. with the Venerable Deborah Kraft officiating. The service will be livestreamed on @StPaulsMedia channel on YouTube. Should friends desire, memorial donations to Roots Community Food Centre https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/134276 or the Anne Germond Legacy Fund https://anneslegacyfund.ca/donate/ would be appreciated. Arrangements entrusted to the Sargent & Son Funeral Chapel, 21 N. Court Street.
