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Wanda B. Sparks
Mrs. Wanda B. Sparks of Winter Park, Fla., and Vilas, N.C., died Sept. 27, 2007.
She attended University of Florida and was a member of Kappa Delta Sorority. Mrs. Sparks was past President of the Council of 101. A true renaissance woman, her interests were wide and varied. She enjoyed travel, the arts, was an accomplished writer and private pilot. She touched and helped many through her generous and caring spirit.
Survivors include her husband, Jesse F. Sparks Jr.; son, Jesse Sparks III of Orlando; daughter, Karen S. Keeton of Seattle, Wash.; son-in-law, B. Keith Keeton; granddaughter, Laura Keeton; sister, Judith Lee of Clewiston, Fla.; niece, Lory Moss; and nephew, Mark Lee.
A service was held Monday, Oct. 1, 2007 at the First United Methodist Church of Winter Park.
Donations in Wanda’s memory may be made to Hospice of the Comforter, 480 W. Central Parkway, Altamonte Springs, FL 32714 or Labrador Retriever Rescue of Florida, c/o Horowitz & Knoch CPA, 408 E. Hillsboro Blvd., #100A, Deerfield Beach, FL 33441.
October 10, 2007
Wanda McGowan
Mrs. Wanda McGowan, 93, homemaker, wife and mother, and office worker, died on Oct. 7, 2007, at the Glenbridge Health and Rehabilitation Center in Boone, N.C.
Born Oct. 26, 1913, in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Mrs. McGowan grew up on a farm in the Pleasant Valley section of Methuen, where she also worked in her father’s business, Country Club Beverages. She graduated from the Ashford School and Central Junior High School and attended Searles High School in Methuen. In Lawrence, Mass., she worked in the Plymouth Mills, Pacific Mills, American Juniors Shoe Company, A.B. Sutherland’s department store, and the Arlington Trust bank. During her working career, she attended business classes at the Cannon and McIntosh Schools of Business, Lowell Technological Institute, and Andover Institute of Business. She moved with her husband to California in 1969, where she worked for National Technical Schools. She spent most of her retirement in Oceanside, Calif., and with her husband traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada. For the past ten years, she has lived in Boone, N.C., near her son’s family.
She is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Thomas and Kathleen McGowan of Boone, N.C.; and a brother, Frank Boumila of Salem, N.H. She had two grandchildren, Michael McGowan of Ojai, Calif., and Elizabeth Moye of Raleigh, N.C.; and a great-grandchild, Javier Thacker McGowan of Ojai, Calif. She had many nieces and nephews in Massachusetts and California, who gave her much joy.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Andrew J. McGowan; her parents, Peter and Anna Boumila; and a sister and brother, Agnes Buote and Peter Boumila.
A memorial service will be held at Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside, Calif., at a date to be announced. She will be buried in the St. Jude’s Section of the Mission San Luis Rey Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to Central Catholic High School, 300 Hampshire St., Lawrence, MA 01840, or a charity of the giver’s choice.
Mrs. McGowan’s family is especially grateful for the care given her by the staffs of Glenbridge Health and Rehabilitation and Appalachian-Brian Estates, for the friendship of Mary Sue Morgan, and for the pastoral care given her by members of St. Elizabeth’s Parish, particularly by Mrs. Angie Green and Father Frank Connolly.
Austin and Barnes Funeral Home of Boone is serving the McGowan family.
October 8, 2007
Charles Morrison Baxter
Mr. Charles Morrison Baxter passed away October 3, 2007.
He was a celebrity in the Miami and South Florida area in the 1950’s through the 1970’s and was beloved to many fans.
Mr. Baxter was born in Toledo, Ohio and served in the United States Marine Corps as a young man. He had an admirable singing and speaking voice and began his career as an announcer for the Toledo Mud Hens baseball team. He relocated to Florida and was a TV personality for WCKT-Channel 7 then later with WKID-Channel 51. He created and portrayed such well-known characters as M.T. Graves, Captain M.T. Space, Professor Klinker, and Captain Kid, among others. He was known for his kindness to his numerous fans.
After leaving the public eye in the 1970’s, he worked at Broward Community College in Davie, Fla. where he wrote, narrated, and produced shows for schoolchildren visiting Buehler Planetarium. In the mid-1980’s Mr. Baxter relocated to the Nashville, Tennessee area and enjoyed a retirement which included a passion for movies, music, and books, and enjoyed corresponding with old friends and fans.
Survivors include a son, Timothy Baxter and wife, Janice; a daughter, Alexandra Beth Rouse and husband, Richard; granddaughters, Madeleine Shae and Gabriella Celeste Rouse; a grandson, Ian Charles Rouse; and numerous friends and fans.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Floyd and Vivian Morrison Baxter; his wife, Margot Bryden Baxter; and former wife and friend, Sylvia Baxter.
In accordance with Mr. Baxter’s wishes, no services will be scheduled. Mr. Baxter generously donated his body to Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Cumberland University’s Fine Arts Council (Lebanon,Tennessee) or to The Salvation Army. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and fans.
Muriel Mary Fleming
Mrs. Muriel Mary Fleming, 80, of Clearwater, Fla., had a peaceful passing on Friday, Sept. 28, 2007.
She was born in Tupper Lake, N.Y. in 1926. 
Mrs. Fleming and her husband operated Fleming Manufacturing of Carthage, N.Y. until 1964. The family relocated to Clearwater Beach, Fla. in 1964. She retired from Maas Brothers Department Store where she was an award winning bridal consultant. Mrs. Fleming was a resident of the Grandfather Farms Community in Banner Elk, and the Linville Creek Community in Vilas, N.C. from 1990 to 2006. She was a faithful member of the Light of Christ Catholic Church in Clearwater. Mrs. Fleming was a loving, caring, and giving wife, mother, and grandmother.
She is survived by her husband of 62 years, Merlin M. Fleming; her sons, Tim, Dan, George, and John; daughters, Susan Fleming, Nancy Pelszynski, and Kelly Watson; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
She is preceded in death by her daughter, Sonja Fleming Jones; and her great-granddaughter, Skye Lee.
A funeral mass was conducted on Monday, October 1, 2007 at the Light of Christ Catholic Church in Clearwater, Fla. She was interred at Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park on Sunset Point Rd. in Clearwater.
Sylvan Abbey Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.
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