Thomas Baxter

Thomas "Tom" Baxter, 69, of rural Waukon, IA, died Tuesday, June 9, 2020, at his home. Funeral services will be held Monday, June 15th, at 11:00 AM at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon, with Fr. Mark Osterhaus officiating. Burial with military rites will be at St. John The Baptist -- West Ridge Cemetery, rural Waukon, across the road from Tom's house where friends are invited to gather following the service. Visitation will be held from 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM Sunday at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon. In consideration of concerns regarding Covid-19, social distancing and wearing of masks will be observed at the church during both the visitation and funeral mass. Memorials and cards may be sent to Beth Baxter, 190 West Ridge Drive, Waukon, IA  52172.

Thomas John Baxter was born on April 11, 1951, in Waukon, IA, the son of John Thomas and Marjorie Ann (Slattery) Baxter. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Mary's Hanover Catholic Church, attended country school till 5th grade, and graduated from Waukon High School in 1969. Tom enlisted in the US Air Force where he served from 1971 to 1975 attaining the rank of sergeant and seeing a tour of duty in Vietnam as a telecommunications specialist. Following his discharge he returned to Allamakee County. While he was a patient in a hospital in La Crosse, WI, Tom developed an interest in a particularly dedicated nurse and on his discharge asked her for a date. Tom's interest continued but she had told her parents that she would never marry anyone except a knight who rode up to her on a white horse. After hearing this Tom talked some friends into lending him a white horse and with presents in hand rode up the driveway where Beth Allison Lewis lived. The two were married on July 12, 1980, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Caledonia, MN. Tom's working career began by hauling canned milk for the Calhoun Co-op Creamery. Later he hauled milk by truckload and worked in various areas of testing before eventually becoming the creamery manager, a position he held from 1981 until his retirement in 2017. During this time he created "The Great Cheese Store" and began several other initiatives that helped the creamery grow.

Tom was always active in his community. He was a 4-H member as a young man and served as a leader after he had a family of his own. He served multiple terms as a St. Patrick School Board Member and later as an Allamakee Community School Board Member. He was also a member of the VFW and currently served on the Union Township rural Fire Board.

Throughout his life Tom was a friend to all and he enjoyed nothing more than their company, whether that be playing euchre, watching Iowa Hawkeye wrestling, Chicago Cubs baseball, or telling one of his many, many stories, often centered on his Irish heritage. He loved his family and everyone in his neighborhood on West Ridge.

Surviving to cherish his memory are his wife Beth; his children: Betsy, Brian (Laura), and Kelly Baxter and Carrie (Mike) Welch, all of Waukon; 5 grandchildren: Lucy and Ruby Welch and Jacob, Miley, and Maddie Baxter; his siblings: Sue (Sam) Bechen of Dubuque, IA, Tony (Mary) Baxter of Waukon, Ann (Mitch) Kunkel of Solon, IA, Mike (Kris) Baxter of Colorado Springs, CO, Katie (Jerry) Weipert of Waukon, Jim (Charlene) Baxter of Waukon, Jerry Baxter of Waukon, Linda (Terry) Fehr of Newton, IA, and Barb (Ray) Vitense of Tipton, IA; his brother-in-law Tony Knight of Iowa City; and Beth's siblings Helen (George) Hill of La Crescent, MN, Jean (Karl) Stokman of Eitzen, MN, and Barbara Droivold of Spring Grove, MN; as well as many nieces, nephews, and other relatives. Tom is preceded in death by his parents; sisters Peg Knight and infant sister Nancy; and brother-in-law Roger Lewis.

Online condolences may be left at www.martinfunerals.com.