ELNOR L. BAXTER

Elnor L. Baxter, 75, a 35-year Alaskan, passed away Dec. 24, 2004, in San Benito, Texas, after a long, hard-fought battle with cancer.

Services will be held at 2 p.m., Friday, Jan. 14, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 501 Bogard Road, Wasilla, where Mrs. Baxter has attended for many years.

Mrs. Baxter was born Sept. 4, 1929, in Divide, N.D., the youngest of six boys and two girls born to Danish immigrants Frederick and Helmina Lund.

She lived with her family for 15 years in North Dakota and then the family moved to Ogden, Utah, where Mrs. Baxter graduated from Ogden High School.

In 1948, she married Bill Baxter. The couple had four children in Utah. During her time there, Mrs. Baxter worked at First Security Bank and Hill Air Force Base. The family camped throughout the West in travel trailers in the late '50s and through the '60s.

In 1970, the family left Utah in a Suburban and travel trailer for the big move to Alaska, arriving in Palmer. A year later they settled for good in Wasilla.

The Baxters both worked for Husky Manufacturing in Palmer, jobs for which they were hired before moving to Alaska. Mrs. Baxter was also a bookkeeper with several other firms as well, including Fuqua Homes, Lampert Homes, Wright Drug Co., Wasilla Pharmacy and the Alaska Division of Public Assistance and was also the Palmer court clerk and acting magistrate.

After retirement, Mrs. Baxter volunteered lots of time to the Wasilla Area Seniors, including a stint as the treasurer. The Baxters also enjoyed much travel and visiting loved ones in the Lower 48, and often took their grandchildren on camping trips here in Alaska.

Mrs. Baxter was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph William (Bill). She leaves her four children, Lora Bailey of Big Lake, William (Bill) Baxter of Anchorage, Cheryl Gordon of Palmer and Wayne Baxter of Anchorage; grandchildren, Jennifer, Matthew, and Marissa Gordon and many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Good Shepherd Lutheran Youth Ministries or the Wasilla Area Seniors Youth Group.