The Obituaries of January*
Ms. Evelyn Trace Baxter…… June 12, 1946 — January 16, 2020
It is with great sorrow that Mr. Charles Baxter, his daughters Jean and Frances, and his sons-in-law, Frederick and Skip, announce the death this morning of beloved wife and mother, Ms. Evelyn Trace Baxter. Ms. Baxter passed away after battling breast cancer for five years.
The Baxter family has made their home in East River for thirty years. Both daughters attended East River schools and went on to graduate from elite universities on the east coast. Mr. Baxter started his career in journalism as a copy editor at the East River Morning Herald fresh out of the University of Pennsylvania and over the years has worked many positions at the paper. He has been the Executive Editor of the Herald for eighteen years now and announced today that he’ll be taking a short leave of absence.
He and Evelyn were high school sweethearts who gained notoriety by going on the run together in 1962 when they were 17 and 16 years old. Mr. Baxter had attended local Friends (also known as Quakers) schools and was a committed pacifist. His decision to go underground as opposed to gaining conscientious objector status, he explained later, was due to his refusal to ground his objections on religious grounds as required. The young couple’s fugitive status was cause for great alarm and worry for both their families, although young Mr. Baxter’s father, a World War II veteran, solidly supported his son’s decision and would not cooperate with authorities.
The two young people were fugitives for only a year before Mr. Baxter’s father entrusted a radical young attorney, Mr. Arnold C. White, to step in and advocate for his son.
During that year, Ms. Trace gave birth to a daughter that the young couple surrendered anonymously to the authorities. Upon returning to their homes, both Charles and Evelyn entered college and married. Then late last year, using the latest technology in DNA tracking and extensive detective work, Ms. Gloria Sheehan, of Winter Park, Florida reached out to the Baxters. She was the baby the young fugitives had surrendered all those years ago.
The reunion was covered in the Herald and Ms. Sheehan and her family spent a week in East River, attending the wedding of Mr. and Ms. Baxter’s younger daughter. The Sheehan family did not respond to requests from the Herald for permission to write a follow-up feature article after that visit.
Mr. Baxter and his daughters have requested that friends and family join them at the Sinclair Family Funeral Chapel to say goodbye to their beloved Evelyn. Visiting hours will be Tuesday and Wednesday, January 21 and 22, with the funeral service being held on Thursday, January 23.
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*This is a fictional obituary using a stock photo from a Medium-approved source.