Obituary for Jean Grinton Baxter

Jean was born January 20, 1924 in St. John, New Brunswick. She was the youngest child and only daughter of Mary Elizabeth (nee Young) and Edward Hermiston Smith (both predeceased). Jean attended high school in St. John where she was active on the debating team. Jean went to the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in Fredericton and earned a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Economics and Politics, with high honours. While at UNB she was Co-editor of the campus newspaper, the Brunswickan, active in the International Relations Club, served as chairman of the Youth Commission Group, was vice-president of the Arts Society and was a member of the Co-Ed hockey team. She was an excellent scholar and earned numerous medals of distinction. While she attended UNB, the family had moved to Fredericton and as her older brothers, William and Donald (both predeceased) were serving in the military overseas during World War II, their rooms were let out to British Royal Air Force pilots who were training in Canada. One such pilot, Cecil Frank Baxter, returned to Canada after the war and they were wed on June 28, 1947 in St. John, New Brunswick. Their seventy-year marriage is testament to the love and commitment that Jean and Cec had for each other. This is poignantly underscored by her passing just 13 days after losing her beloved Cecil on October 4, 2017.
Early in their marriage, Jean and Cecil moved for his career to Sudbury, Windsor and Montreal before settling back in Sudbury in the late 1950s. Jean was very active in the community and served on the public school board, the library board and organizing events such as Sudbury’s celebration of the Canadian centennial in 1967. She re-entered the workforce in the late 1960s starting part time at Laurentian University (LU), progressing to full time there as their Director of Communications and Alumni Affairs, a position she held until her retirement in 1989. Jean was a tireless advocate of LU and sat on many committees in order to network for the University and she oversaw the initiation and expansion of many public relations programs there. She was also a tireless and passionate advocate for women and women’s issues, mentoring a large number of young professional women through the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) and the Sudbury Business and Professional Women’s Club.
Nowhere did Jean excel more, though, than being a loving Mother, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother. She is survived by children, Barbara, John (MaryEllen) and Beverly. She is Grammy to Christopher, Tiffany, Andrea, Erin, Melissa, Jay, Owen and Scott and great Grammy to Emily, Breanna, Jay, Rose, Violet, Leopold, Kate, Avery and Rowan.
Sadly missed by many loving nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Brain Canada Foundation, an organization that provides research dollars for neurodegenerative diseases.


Funeral Service in the
R. J. Barnard Chapel
Jackson and Barnard Funeral Home
233 Larch Street, Sudbury
Saturday, October 21st, 2017 at 2:30pm.
Cremation at the Park Lawn Crematorium.

(Friends may call after 1pm Saturday).