John Mitchell Baxter

John Mitchell Baxter, age 90, of Dermott, Arkansas passed away on Sunday, August 16, 2015. He was born to the late John Baxter and Bess Mitchell Baxter on December 25, 1924 in Dermott, Arkansas. Other than his parents, Mr. Baxter was preceded in death by his wife of 59 years, Fay Deckelman Baxter, son, Steve and daughter Patricia. Mr. Baxter was a lifelong resident of Dermott. He attended Dermott High School in 1938; Chamberlain-Hunt Academy in Port Gibson, MS 1939-1940; the University of Arkansas-Monticello 1941-1942; University of Central Arkansas-Conway 1945 and the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville in 1946. He was in a pilot training program with the US Navy in 1943-1944 and loved flying his small Cessna plane, taking trips with the kids, dog and wife as co-pilot. He served as president and chairman of the board of Dermott State Bank between 1975 and 1995. He was a partner with his brother Bill in the family farming business in Desha County which was founded with their father, John Baxter, in the 1950s and grew into a large operation, including two farming companies, a cotton gin and a fish hatchery. Some of his fondest memories were of his time spent in Honduras in the 1950s setting up a lumber business. He also enjoyed many years in a part-time home in St. Petersburg, Fla., where the family was part of a special group of fun-loving friends. His encyclopedic memory was an oft-used resource and, whether the subject was economics or regional history, as a born raconteur, he loved to tell stories. One of his earliest memories was boarding a train headed to high ground during the Great Mississippi River flood of 1927. He is survived by his daughter, Andrea of Albuquerque, N.M. and a brother and sister-in-law, William A. and Mary Jane Baxter of Naples, Fla. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Arkansas Children's Hospital, Cystic Fibrosis Center, at PO Box 2222, Little Rock, Ark. 72203 (archildrens.org) or Sunny Shores Sea Camp, P.O. Box 56-1109, Miami, Fla. 33256 (sunnyshoresseacamp.org). The family requests a private graveside service. Arrangements by Griffin-Culpepper Funeral Service of McGehee, Ark. On-line guest book at www.griffinculpepper.com.