January 2, 1931 – March 15, 2025
Born in Graz, Austria, Christine Baxter passed away peacefully at the Rosewood Retirement Home in Kingston, Ontario. She is now with her late husband, George and daughter, Jayney.
She loved and was deeply loved by her children Peter (Ethel), Bob (Terri), and Tim (Gaetan), and grandchild Scott (Donna).
Christine, with George by her side, endured the many challenges faced a post-war immigrant family; especially, the tragic loss of their dear daughter Jayney at age 4. Together they defined our family and nurtured us to achieve our full potential.
It was only in 2015 that Christine first connected with her birth family in Austria. Though the time together was relatively short, she found peace and love with her siblings Josef, Maria and Herta her cousin, Manfred, and their respective families. The visits, skype calls, letters and storey-telling were meaningful and healing, thank-you.
Christine (mom) was many things to us. She always provided us with a cultural context for food, language, and family traditions, and blessed us with apfelstrudel, Salzstangerl und wiener schnitzel! You were the keeper of “der witze” - a repertoire of friendly jokes and stories that were shared with family, friends and strangers, and your timing and delivery were worthy of a master’s class in comedic relief. The laughter that ensued, was genuine and comforting. On the gaming front, mom never turned down an opportunity to gather with the gals from the hood to play cards, share in good humor and when necessary, console those that needed a shoulder to cry or laugh on. Now, when it came to fashion and needlecraft, you tirelessly delivered bold, beautiful, exemplary and even avant-garde designs in both clothing and art.
In short, her love of life, laughter, family, and friends was simply beautiful – a homage to Edelweiss the flower and in meaning - in her words, simply “marvelous”!
You will be missed but not forgotten.
In keeping with Christine’s wishes cremation has taken place. There will be no visitation or service. Her ashes will be interred, next to her beloved husband, George, and daughter Jayney at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Sault Ste. Marie.
The family would also like to extend their heartfelt thanks to the staff and service workers of Rosewood Retirement Home (Kingston), St. Lawrence Retirement Place (Kingston) and the Great Northern Retirement Home (Sault Ste. Marie) that looked after, cared for, and protected her these past years.
A special thank-you to Dr. Marian Luka. You went beyond your oath of exemplary patient well-being, compassion, and respect – you are a great person, and mom (and all of us) loved you dearly.
As a lifelong reader and lover of books, mom took full advantage of libraries. At times we needed to exchange another collection of books every couple of weeks.
If you would like to donate in mom’s memory, donations to your local public library would be appreciated by the family.
Visit www.osullivanfuneralhome.com to leave condolences for the family. O’Sullivan Funeral Home (215 St. James St., Sault Ste. Marie, ON, P6A 1P7, 705-759-8456).