Betty Sloan Baxter

Betty Sloan Baxter of Tulsa, OK, formerly of Pampa, was ‘Serenaded by Angels’ as she met her Lord and Savior on August 9, 2024, at the age of 89 in Sand Springs, OK, with her family by her side. 

Services will be at 2:00 PM, Saturday, August 17, 2024, at the Carmichael-Whatley Colonial Chapel in Pampa, TX, with Rev. Byron Williamson, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Pampa, officiating. Burial will follow at Fairview Cemetery where Betty will be laid to rest next to her husband of 66 years, Floyd, under the direction of Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors and Crematory.

Betty’s service will be livestreamed through the funeral home’s website. 

The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Friday, August 16, 2024 from 6:00-7:00 PM.

Betty was born on September 12, 1934, in Rozel, Kansas. She graduated from Pampa High School in 1952. She also attended Clarendon College in Pampa. In 1952, she married Floyd M. Baxter, Sr. with her father officiating. Together they had three children, Tina Marie Baxter, Floyd Baxter, Jr., and Teresa Butler. They were also blessed with a son-in-law, Mike and a daughter in law, Brenda and seven grandchildren; Brandon Baxter, Sarah Baxter, Christopher Butler, James Butler, Jason Thomas, Justin Fortner, and Jeffrey Fortner; several great and great-great grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews, friends, and bonus children consisting of her children’s childhood friends. Betty moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2019 to be closer to her daughter after Floyd’s passing.

Betty was actively involved in the lives of her children as a stay-at home mother often responding with a resounding “no” when being asked “if she had anything else to do?” while sitting on the floor playing with her children. She volunteered in all her children’s activities including PTA president, homeroom mom – the best, according to some, and as both a Cub Scout and Girl Scout leader. As her children became older you would find her volunteering at United Way and with the school in the nurses’ office with her beloved friends, Ruth Steger and Marge Penn, and later back to her first love – the library, where she volunteered & was later employed by the PISD. She worked at the Pampa Library when it was downtown in City Hall and later in the Lovett Memorial Library when it opened. 

Betty loved being a homemaker, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother-she used the pending arrival of one great grandchild as motivation to recover and thrive after breaking her femur. She was an avid seamstress, cook, baker and cake decorator with many family members being the recipient of her love through the cookies, cakes, peanut brittle, and caramel corn she gifted to them. She consumed more sugar than any other diabetic we knew. 

Betty also loved to knit and crochet. Her children and grandchildren have been the recipients of her warmth and love through the gift of handmade afghans. Betty was an avid collector of many items; all things butterfly – especially quilt material, DeGrazia magnets & calendars and salt & pepper shakers having started her & her mother’s collection on a high school choir trip. She may have been known as a pack rat & the only person we knew who could fit a three-bedroom house into a one-bedroom apartment.

Betty’s favorite past-time was reading, transitioning to Audio books after macular degeneration robbed her of most of her eyesight. Beginning in 7th grade, she maintained a log of all the books she read. The latest count was 6514 books not counting those she read more than once and all the children’s stories she read to her grandkids! 

Floyd and Betty enjoyed many adventures with their family & friends in their camper, boat & RV and loved traveling to the mountains. Highlights of their adventures included a trip to the NE coast for their 50th wedding anniversary and a Catfish Charlie hair mask during one of their many fishing trips with Ralph & Jimmie. Betty also had a thong reputation amongst her Baxter nieces and nephews – ask them about it. 

Having severe arthritis, Betty discovered a love for exercising in the pool to maintain her health and relieve some pain. She made many “swim” friends at the Pampa Youth & Community Center and continued to make friends in Tulsa at the pool. For someone who did not know how to swim, she sure logged a lot of hours in the pool. 

She was a member of First Pentecostal Holiness Church in Pampa and was faithful to attend church services and Bible study at her new Trinity Woods community where she also enjoyed playing BINGO & shared many musical evenings & events with her new Tulsa friends. Betty lived her life according to her favorite Bible verse Matthew 6:33 – “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Betty’s faith was her foundation. She served as Sunday School and church treasurer, made countless quilts and fried pies at church, and prayed diligently for her friends and family. She was an encouragement to many.

Betty was preceded in death by her parents, Rev. R.G. and Helen Sloan; her husband, Floyd M. Baxter, Sr.; a daughter, Tina Marie Baxter; her grand-daughter, Sarah Marie Baxter; her brother, John Sloan; and her two sisters, Martha Gibson and Mary Aldridge.

Betty is survived by her two children, Floyd Baxter, Jr. and wife Brenda, and Teresa Butler and husband Mike; six grandchildren, Brandon Baxter, Christopher Butler, James Butler, Jason Thomas, Justin Fortner, and Jeffrey Fortner; several great and great-great grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews, friends, and bonus children consisting of her children’s childhood friends.

A loving wife and mother, lifelong friend and mentor, Betty will be missed. May the memory of her be one of faith, strength, perseverance, courage, and love for her family. May your memories of her bring you joy. We have all been blessed to have had her in our lives. 

Betty’s family wishes to express their appreciation to the employees of Trinity Woods and to Suncrest Hospice who helped keep their mother comfortable in her last days.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested memorials be made to one of the following: Trinity Woods Good Samaritan Fund – 4134 E. 31st St, Tulsa, OK 74135; Tralee Crisis Center – 308 S. Cuyler, Pampa, TX 79065; and the Lovett Memorial Library – 111 N. Houston St., Pampa, TX 79065.