John Windfield Baxter Jr., 81, passed away Sunday, February 12, 2012 at University Park Nursing and Rehabilitation. Funeral services will be 11 a.m., Thursday, February 16, 2012 at Ankeny Funeral Home, 1510 W. 1st St., Ankeny. Visitation will be one hour prior to funeral service. Burial will be at Oralabor Cemetery. John was born July 13, 1930 in Horton, Kansas to John and Hazel Baxter. He graduated Salutatorian from DeSota High School in DeSota, KS in 1948. John was drafted into the Army in 1952 and served in the Korean War until December, 1953. He continued in the Reserves until his Honorable Discharge January, 1960. John married Martha Ruth Saler on June 22, 1952 in Eudora, KS. He worked as a theater projectionist, restaurant manager, in manufacturing, and then sold insurance until his retirement in 2003. He is survived by his wife, Martha; sister, Delores Lycan; children, Kathy Baxter, Dee Dickerson, Marjorie and Daniel Vance, Jackie Baxter, and John Baxter; grandchildren, Tracy and Jerzy Boczkowski, Brad and Brandie Baxter, and Dylan Schoon; and great-grandsons, Trevor and Trey Boczkowski; along with an extended group who considered him family. He is preceded in death by brothers, Don and Delbert; sister, Mildred; and granddaughter, Tina. In lieu of flowers the family asks that memorial contributions be sent to the American Heart Association . Published in Des Moines Register on February 15, 2012