Catherine (Kay) Baxter, RSCJ

Birth: Nov. 16, 1928 Profession: Feb. 4, 1964 Death: Dec. 25, 2009

ST. LOUIS -- Sister Catherine Baxter, beloved member of the Society of the Sacred Heart for 54 years, died on December 25, 2009, at Oakwood in Atherton, CA. The daughter of Alice Gorman and John Baxter, she was born in Providence, RI. After attending public schools in Newport, RI, she graduated from Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart, Purchase, NY, in 1950.

As a Religious of the Sacred Heart, Sister Baxter was a leading educator, teaching in Sacred Heart schools in Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia, PA; and Boston, MA. She was headmistress of Newton Country Day School in Newton, MA, and of Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart in Miami, FL. In Seattle, WA, she worked at Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in public relations and development.

From 1997-2004, she was Director of Oakwood, the retirement center for Religious of the Sacred Heart in Atherton. She then served in the U.S. Province Archives of the Society of the Sacred Heart in St. Louis, MO. In 2008, in failing health, she returned to Oakwood where she died peacefully on Christmas morning.

Sr. Baxter is held with fond affection by two surviving sisters, Alice Baxter and Joan Fogarty, both of Burke, VA, and by many RSCJ, Alumnae, and former colleagues. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at Oakwood on March 6, 2010. Memorial contributions may be made to the Society of the Sacred Heart, 4120 Forest Park Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63108.

Note: Sister Baxter’s complete biography is posted at Roller Hapgood & Tinney.