Elaine Hess Baxter

Elaine Etta Hess Baxter was born in the small town of North Powder, Oregon on June 25,1917 to Etta Jane Brown Hess and Charles Ellis Hess. She was the first of two children. Elaine married Veryl Bowthorpe Baxter on November 28, 1935. Elaine passed away in Logan, Utah where she was staying with a granddaughter and family on September 5, 2026.

The family may have begun in Eastern Oregon but they didn’t stay there too long as they moved to California for employment reasons. They lived in a total of four states in their entire marriage and each was made into a very warm and secure home and welcomed three daughters, Janice Lynne (Carl Henshaw), Karen Kay (Thomas Tubbs) and Gail Marlene (Lanning Porter).

Elaine had many beautiful talents she shared with her family and friends. She was very comfortable with needle and thread and made many dresses and skirts for her daughters, including Gail’s wedding dress. Wherever they lived, there were many varieties of flowers and other greenery growing and blooming in her garden to enjoy. She also cultivated vegetables from her garden each year. Elaine could prepare a dinner for one or for many and always had a plate that included a balanced diet. From her childhood she learned to play the piano and later in life she fulfilled a lifelong dream and owned her own organ which we all enjoyed. After settling into retirement and enjoying their motor home travel, Elaine decided she would try her skills with the brush: the landscape brush and oils type. Today, each of her children and grandchildren proudly display one or more of her works in their homes.

Working with the war movement of building ships, Veryl and Elaine stayed in the San Francisco area until the war ended and they moved to a small town in northern California named Boonville. Here they formed a company with other family members in the lumber business. The Independent Redwood company lasted nearly 20 years when the larger companies moved in.

Leaving Boonville was difficult for Elaine and Veryl as they had enjoyed their service opportunities in the community and had become very active in local politics and other volunteer events.

Elaine was faced, at this time, with an “empty nest” so decided to return to the local college to upgrade her secretarial skills and set herself up to be a “working girl” for the next 20 years, retiring from Masonite Corporation in Ukiah, California.

Veryl and Elaine decided to move ahead and do some travelling. That decision made for a wonderful life of travel and adventure around the United States and Canada and Mexico. The motor home was traded for a larger one each time they got anxious to see some more sights whether it was New England, South East, Mid-West, Pacific North West, or the Western Coast. Many times, they borrowed a grandkid or two to join them. Such fun playing house along the highways! Beauty and education for them. About this time, they were both deciding that retirement was a great time of life!

Elaine didn’t let the grass stand still in her life following Veryl’s death in 1997 and began visiting her kids and grandkids from Virginia to California to Kansas to Washinton. She fulfilled a mission for her church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She had the job of correcting genealogy forms in Italian. Elaine did not speak nor understand Italian but had a successful and fulfilling mission of service in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Lord works in mysterious ways sometimes!

Elaine loved her family and told them so daily. Elaine’s heritage is full of special and beautiful members. She leaves 13 grandchildren, 49 great grands and 16 great-great grandchildren and counting more. She spent the last days of her life enjoying the country air of Virginia and finally in Utah, surrounded by her growing family. She shall be missed but we know that she served well in this life and we always rejoice in the knowledge of eternal life ahead.

A family memorial luncheon will be held on Sunday, September 13 in Logan with the burial in Buckingham, Virginia at a later date.

Condolences and memories may be shared on Allen-Hall Mortuary's website: www.allenmortuaries.com.