Victoria Vanlare was born on the 13th of September 1908 at her great grandfather’s Sappor village at Alavanyo, near Ada Foah.  Her parents were the late Charles Francisco Vanlare of Keta, and Madam Blandina Mamle Larnyoh of Ada Foah.

At the age of two, her paternal grandfather William Ludwig Vanlare who was then working with Millers and Company at Kpong, and her grandmother Madam Wilhelmina Fiawornu Amegashie Vanlare took charge of her and became responsible for her upbringing.  One of the skills her grandmother taught her early in life was the knowledge of beads and this began Victoria’s love affair with beads, which lasted all her life.

She started her schooling in Keta under the Bremen Mission Deaconesses. She was still there when World War I broke out in 1914, and the Deaconesses sent back to Germany as they were considered enemies of the British who were at war with Germany.

She continued her schooling in Keta until early in 1926 when her uncle, Mr Elliot Vanlare sent her to Wesley Girls High School in Cape Coast.  As suitable accommodation was not available at the school, she lived for a while with the Phillips family.  Later, she was invited to stay with the late Bishop CC Alleyne and his wife, missionaries of the A.M.E. Zion Mission Church.  The family offered to take her to America for further schooling, but her father would not allow it.  They continued to ask for many years afterwards to take her but when they heard she was engaged to be married, they stopped.

After the departure of the Alleyne’s, Victoria became a boarder at Wesley Girls High School.  The then principal, Sister Evelyn Bellamy, was very fond of her and wanted her to stay and teach at the school, but her father insisted that she return to Keta.  Victoria’s teaching career began at her old school in Keta where she taught domestic science, a brand-new subject for girls in those days.  Much as she enjoyed teaching, she had to leave after a year to work for her father’s employers the United Africa Company (UAC) as a departmental storekeeper.  This was a new experience for her, working in a store instead of a classroom, but she approached this task with cheerful diligence until her marriage on the 4th of January 1936 to Christian Goncalves Baeta.

Victoria and her husband travelled a lot and she visited many countries, making a lot of friends which came easily to her as she had a friendly, outgoing personality.  She was known for her love of stylish clothes and for creating beautiful designs with beads.

She brought up many people who became prominent in various walks of life.  She was affectionately called “Dada” by most people, and this term of endearment was extended to her by many families, especially during her twenty two year stay at the University of Ghana, first at Achimota and Legon, where her husband served as Presbyterian Minister, and also as Professor of the study of Religions.

Another aspect of her life was her love for voluntary service to the community.  As a member of the Women’s Voluntary Service, she knitted sweaters for the troops during the Second World War.  She was the Chairperson of the University Wives Association of Legon and a life member of the Christian Council Women’s Committee on Marriage and Family and Chairperson and Treasurer of the Building Committee of the Training Centre of the Girls Guides Local Association at Achimota.

She took charge of a two-week-old baby whose mother had died during childbirth at Korle-bu.  The child’s father was a Nigerian steward at Legon Hall but the Nigerian community at Legon would have nothing to do with the baby because it had cleft palate, and this was considered to bring bad luck.  Victoria kept the baby until his grandmother finally came and took him away to Nigeria.  She also looked after babies whose parents were on admission in hospital.

She was a member of the Legon Hall Church Choir and the E.P. Church Women’s Fellowship.  Her effective involvement in the Ghana Bead Society afforded her the opportunity to share her knowledge of beads with many people.

With all these activities, she combined the upbringing of her five children. She was the mother of Barbara Baeta, Founder of Flair Catering Serviced, Robert, a professor of Physics at the University of Ghana, Joao, a Lawyer and Diplomat, Stephanie Baeta Ansah, also a lawyer and Basil, a surgeon in Ontario, Canads.

Reference: Edited Funeral Brochure published Saturday 23rd October 1999.