Robert Everette Baxter

Robert Everette Baxter of Midlothian, Virginia, passed away on July 22, 2024. He was born in Petersburg, Virginia, the son of Esther Ramsey Blankenship and James Horace Baxter. He was the retired President and CEO of Saroca Corporation and the Owner/Operator of the Island Inn Motel, Myrtle Beach, SC.

Robert (Bobby) spent more than a quarter of a century working in the areas of advertising, sales promotion, marketing, and general business operations as the Vice President and General Manager of Martin & Woltz (Richmond), Vice President of Cargill, Wilson, and Acree (Richmond), and Branch Manager of the Charlotte, NC Office. He was the Director of Advertising and Corporate Secretary of Physicians Products Co. (Petersburg), Advertising and Sales Promotion Manager of C.F. Sauer (Richmond), and National Advertising Manager of the Petersburg Newspaper Corporation (now The Progress Index).

Bobby served on the boards of more than fifty business, civic, and church-related groups. He was the past President of the Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees), Little League Association, Parent Teacher Association, and Men of the Church. He was a former member of the Board of Stewards and Lay Leader of the Methodist Church and was a Deacon, Elder, Vice Moderator, and Co-Chairman of a building fund in the Presbyterian Church. He also served as Co-Chairman of the Red Cross Bloodmobile, Chairman of Brotherhood Week, and Publicity Chairman of the United Fund, and the YMCA Building Fund. Bobby was the past Chair of the Financial Committee (Appomattox District), Robert E. Lee Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He was a Mason at the Powhatan Starke 124 AF & AM and the Petersburg Lodge No. 15, and a former Lion. He was active in the Advertising Club of Richmond, serving as Vice President and President-Elect before moving to South Carolina. He was listed in Who's Who in Advertising - 2nd edition. Bobby was a Founder and the first Emcee of POGO (the Petersburg Old Geezers Organization).

He was a Director of Virginia Commonwealth Bank, Virginia Bank Corp for 37 years, and a Director of Union Finance Corporation. Bobby was a past Director of the Commonwealth Packaging Company for 24 years, and the Director and Secretary of the William R. Smith Company.

Bobby served in the U.S. Army in the Philippine Islands during WWII. He graduated from Petersburg High School and attended the College of William & Mary and RPI (now VCU). He was a member of the Bull & Bear Club, Salisbury Country Club, Briarwood Tennis Club, and Lodge Creek Yacht Club. He was an avid hunter, boater, and tennis player.

Bobby was predeceased by his loving wife of 65 years, Sarah Seay Baxter. His family includes a daughter, Sarah Baxter Cash and husband, Dr. Carl Cash; a son, Robert E. Baxter, Jr. and wife, Laura; a daughter, Catherine Baxter Redford and husband, Robert; and seven grandchildren, Donald Buckley, Jr. and wife, Brittany, Joseph Buckley and wife, Kristi, Jennifer Buckley Brown and husband, Kasper, Lindsay Baxter Lemley and husband, Matt, Lauren Baxter Roberts and husband, Lee, Robert E. Baxter III and wife, Anna, and Elizabeth Redford and partner, Scott.

He also has thirteen great-grandchildren, Dane, June, Waylon, Wilder, Kelsey, Connor, Sarah, Colby, Berkleigh, Darcy, Coco, Kate, and Dylan.

A chapel service will be held at J.T. Morriss & Son Funeral Home in Petersburg, Virginia, on Saturday, August 10, 2024, at 11:00 am. Private interment to follow at Blandford Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Tablespoons' Bakery or the American Red Cross.