Delivered by William J. Baxter III
July 9, 2025 | Mattituck, New York
Thank you for coming today. It truly helps our family heal and remember Bill Baxter. In full disclosure, you may want to leave early as dad’s dying wishes were to have everyone here grab a paintbrush and put one last coat of varnish on Smuggler and a coat of paint on the office building.
Thank you, Dad, for marrying Pat Baxter. She is so caring and such a wonderful mom to her 4 children and grandmother to her 8 grandchildren. Watching her love for you as she kissed your forehead and hugged you in your final days showed how strong your love for each other remained after 65 years.
Thank you for bringing Eddie into our lives. Eddie showed the family and community what a beautiful person is. Eddie, the family is so thankful for your hard work, patience and calming spirit in these difficult times.
I always admired the love and respect Dad had for his sister Jane Goeller. Our family moved to Greenwich to be closer to the Goeller and Seidler families. Dad spent most summer days saying hi to Jane and Bob before heading out on Smuggler.
Your children Kathy, Bill, Susie and John will miss your many April Fools pranks. Their spouses Hugh, Jackie, Jeff and Molly with your grandchildren Kevin, Billy, Claire, Spencer, Mac, Charlie, James and Patrick will miss the many barbeques and family meals together. We will always have a rich chocolate dessert in your memory. We know how important family time was to you and we promise to bring the family together often.
Your family and friends will not miss the yellow notepad with the extensive chore lists. Often the simplest chore took an unexpected – expected turn. One day, Dad wanted to drain their Olympic sized pool at our Greenwich house so we could paint the pool. Dad borrowed a high-speed pump from the fire department, started draining the pool and took the family to church. Upon our return, our neighbor Sidney was waiting for us. Apparently, water does flow downhill -- and this time into Sidney’s house. Moldy leaves and all.
Once, Dad had 5 minutes before Jack and Devera Galvin arrived for a game of tennis at our house. This day, Dad thought it was a good idea to cut grass in his tennis whites. Dad was cutting the grass on a tractor. He stopped the tractor to move a branch. He was on top of the cliff facing the harbor when his foot slipped off the brake. The tractor and dad shot over the cliff and into the water. Jack arrived to witness this, and after he stopped laughing, he tied a rope to his car to pull Dad and the tractor up the muddy banks.
Dad loved the Robins Island Cove raft-ups on Captain Hook and Smuggler. He waited like all of us for Bob Fisher’s Thunderbird to arrive covered in Swissy Mouse Ballons. The days were full of laughter and gave a tremendous sense of belonging to this special community on the North Fork.
Dad loved to race around Robins Island on Wednesday nights. While there was no official scorer, it was always a competition.
Dad wanted God to be a big part of all of our lives. He never missed Sunday mass. It is possible the baked goods for sale after mass may have been a motivating factor. It did not matter if we traveled to a foreign country or not, we always attended mass. If there was a regatta on Sunday, we attended the 8am mass in Polish. For many years, the local priest would have a private mass and dinner at our house to remember his father.
While he rarely said he loved you, Dad showed his love for you by caring about your life and all of the activities your family was involved with. Dad, we love you. God loves you.