'Shining star': Area family mourns model killed in L.A. crash
The grieving father of a model from St. Thomas who worked in New York and Los Angeles is remembering his son as a “shining star” who had a gift for bringing people together.
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The grieving father of a model from St. Thomas who worked in New York and Los Angeles is remembering his son as a “shining star” who had a gift for bringing people together.
“He touched so many people with such beautiful humility and just patience and kindness,” Don Baker said of his son Jaron.
Jaron Baker died July 9 in a collision in Los Angeles while driving his prized motorbike, a Suzuki DRZ400. He was 25 years old.
Baker was on his way home from shooting a Levi’s campaign. Los Angeles police are investigating, his family says.
Last Friday, about 300 people turned out for a memorial at Silver Lake Meadows, a reservoir park in Los Angeles. Don Baker says buddies showed up whom Jaron had met through modeling, rock climbing and acting classes.
“At his memorial, all of his friends were all interconnected and intertwined in some interesting way,” Don Baker said. “All these souls were brought together because (Jaron) truly did pay it forward in such a mighty way.”
“He was just such a humble kid,” his father said.
In a 2017 interview with Eric Bunnell for his column in the St. Thomas Times-Journal, Jaron, then 20, said he had been approached while at a Jonathan and Olivia store in Toronto by a stylist who asked if he was a model. “I was, like, ‘Hmmm, maybe this could be an actual thing,'” Jaron Baker said.
As a teen, he attended Central Elgin secondary school, where he was an all-around athlete. “I was just really in love with basketball. I played every single day,” he said in the interview.
Don Baker says his son spent time modelling in New York, building up his portfolio and was under contract with Wilhelmina, a global agency. “Dad, I love fashion. I want to design clothes. I want to be part of that industry,” Don Baker recalls Jaron telling him when the young man decided against studying nursing.
Jaron had appeared in campaigns for brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, American Eagle and Nike. He also was pursuing an acting career, and Don Baker says his son’s acting coach said he had a Paul Walker-type energy.
Don Baker had visited several times with his son and Jaron’s girlfriend, model Laurel Thoma, in Los Angeles.
“It wasn’t just about Jaron,” Don Baker said of his son’s short life. “It was about how he could truly invest his gifts and talents into each person’s life that he met, and how he (could) create an amazing pile of ripples in the space-time continuum, that’s for sure.”
Jaron Baker is survived by his father, mother Cindy, sister Kyra, and Thoma.
A memorial is planned for Sunday at Fellowship Christian Reformed Church in St. Thomas, with visitation from 1-3 p.m. and a service to follow, Don Baker said.
Twitter.com/DanatLFPress
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