Obituary: Baxter, Jean Elizabeth (Crombie)
Age 86
She will be greatly missed by all those that know her, but we know that as believers we will see her again as each of us are called home.
Jean was born to James C. and Frances Marguerite (VanBuren) Crombie on October 26, 1928, in Rochester, New York.
The middle of three children, Jean graduated from Medina (Ohio) high school in 1946.
She knew at an early age that she wanted to be a nurse.
At her father’s insistence, she completed both college and nursing school, graduating from Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing in 1951 with her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing.
While in high school, Jean met her future husband, Chadwick Franklin Baxter, and they were married June 16, 1951 just days after her graduation.
Jean worked for the University Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio where she ran one of the first post-operative recovery rooms in the nation.
She continued to use her nursing skills while working alongside her husband in his Pediatric Surgery practice as well as volunteering at her children’s schools, as a Girl Scout and Boy Scout leader, in the Spokane County Medical Auxiliary, the Visiting Nurses Association and in her church in the choir and as a Deacon.
Her passion was caring for children and she was involved in multiple projects in the community including helping to establish a Meals on Wheels in Spokane.
Even in retirement she continued to volunteer to read to children and help classroom teachers once a week at Lincoln Heights Elementary School.
Jean and Chad were married for 56 years until his death September 28, 2007.
The Baxters moved to Spokane in 1962.
She was an amazing and loving woman.
She set aside her own career at the birth of her children and for the rest of her life devoted her time to her family and her community.
As a mother, she often sacrificed her own needs to ensure that her children had all that they needed.
Though she was a city girl and Chad was a farm boy, she adored her husband.
The love they had for one another spilled over into the world from their family home.
That love was never more noticeable as when the two of them took to the dance floor.
Their partnership over the years produced a fluid, joyous union that others stopped to watch and admire.
She was known for her welcoming hospitality.
Planned or unexpected guests were treated with gracious kindness and delicious home-cooked meals for as long as they could or needed to stay in the Baxter home.
Others say that when you talked to Jean, you had her undivided attention and she made you feel like the most important person in the room.
She was the original multi-tasker and functioned as the family maid, cook, laundress, gardener, chauffeur and executive administrator long before the term was coined.
She took great pride in the home she created.
She was dubbed “Clean Jean” because of her impeccable housekeeping and she taught her children to fly over freshly vacuumed carpets so as not to leave any indentations on cleaning days.
Her mothering extended beyond her own children to many others.
And for those whom she mothered, we are who we are today because of her shining example and generous love.
She truly lived as the definition of a grand lady - polite, gracious, charming and impeccably groomed.
She lived with an independent spirit and an iron will.
That strong will displayed itself as the ping pong champion of Touchmark at the age of 85 (including the staff).
Jean is survived by her sister, Ann Wilkinson, Spokane and children Sarah Beyersdorf (Steve) of Spokane, Doug Baxter (Nancy) of West Richland and Susan Sutton (Jay) of Boise, Idaho.
She is also survived by the six grandchildren she was utterly devoted to - Chad and Kali Beyersdorf, Nicholas and Stuart Stejer, and Robert and Catherine Baxter as well as a multitude of nieces and nephews and their families.
She will be missed.
The family wishes to thank the staff at Touchmark and Hospice of Spokane for their loving and gracious care of Jean during her association with them.
Memorial services will be held Saturday, March 14, 2015; 2:00 pm at Hamblen Park Presbyterian Church, 4102 S. Crestline in Spokane, Washington.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Spokane, 121 S. Arthur, Spokane, WA 99202; the Union Gospel Mission, PO Box 4066, Spokane, WA 99220; or the charity of your choosing.