Thaxton, Margaret Risser (1917-2003)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2003 Jun 2 p. 8

Birth date: 1917 Aug 19

text of obituary:

MARGARET THAXTON

Margaret Risser Thaxton, 85, of St. Petersburg, Fla., died April 30, 2003, at Bayfront Medical Center from complications following heart surgery. She was born Aug. 19, 1917, to Ephraim and Mary Ann (Horst) Risser near Peabody, Kan.

She graduated from Hesston (Kan.) Academy in 1937 and completed nurses training at La Junta, Colo., in 1942. After her graduation from Bethel College, North Newton, Kan., in 1946, she began her career as a nursing instructor at Holzer Hospital in Gallipolis, Ohio. There she met Robert H. Thaxton, whom she married on May 9, 1948.

They moved to Canton, Ohio, in 1951, where she taught nursing at Altman Hospital. In 1957 they moved to St. Petersburg, where she was one of the original faculty of the St. Petersburg Junior College nursing program. She left the college in 1969 and continued nursing in various capacities until her retirement in 1985

She was a member of Clearview United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg and later joined St. Luke's United Methodist Church. At the time of her death, she was a member of Pasadena Community United Methodist Church. A loving and faithful example to her children and grandchildren, her love and care extended to friends and neighbors.

Survivors include three daughters, Mary Ann Cleveland and her husband, Tony; Myrna Thomas and her husband, Rollen; and Marcia Welch and her husband, Tony, all of Tallahassee, Florida; and six grandchildren.

Memorial services were held at Pasadena Community Church.