Worthington High Schools Alumni Club - Deceased Classmates
First Name
Jane Sherrill
Maiden Name
Papke
Last Name
Baxter
Passing Date
12/12/2022
Class Attended
Faculty
High School
Faculty
Jane Sherrill Baxter, age 75, of Worthington, OH., was 'Promoted To Glory' to be with her God in Heaven on Monday, December 12, 2022, at her home surrounded by family. She was preceded in death by her parents, Reverend Earl and Doris Papke, and sister, Ann Anderson. Survived by her devoted companion of more than 57 years, and father of her children, Bruce Baxter, children, Scott (Ellen) Baxter and Megan (Jason) Savage, grandchildren, Ryan Baxter, Sarah Baxter, Brian Savage and Tommy Savage, brother, David (Sue Duling) Papke, brother-in-law Reverend Dwight Anderson (Karen), nieces and nephews, Melissa Anderson, Chris Anderson, Sam (Jamie Spitzer) Papke and Brook Svoboda, and numerous other family members and cherished friends. Jane was a Magna Cum Laude graduate in Math and Physics from Capital University, with a Master's Degree from The Ohio State University. While at Capital she was a member of Zeta Pi Lambda sorority and a Varsity cheerleader. Later in life, she was elected to the Capital Alumni Board. After graduation from Capital, she taught Mathematics at Eastmoor Junior High School, and then was eventually hired to teach in Worthington Public Schools, where she remained a highly regarded staff member for more than 30 years. Over the course of her career in Worthington Schools, she became the Chairperson of the Math Department at Worthington High School, and then at Worthington Kilbourne High School, when it opened in the fall of 1991. Her classroom expertise was in the teaching of AP Calculus. In 1999, Jane was named the Central Ohio Math Teacher of the Year, by the Central Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics. She remained as Chair of the Math Department at Kilbourne until her retirement in 2006, and continued to privately tutor Calculus students in her home for some time after retirement. Jane loved her job as a teacher, her faculty colleagues, and most of all, the thousands of students that she welcomed into her classroom. At age 27, Jane was diagnosed with severely crippling Rheumatoid Arthritis, which she battled with warrior like courage and tenacity for the rest of her life. Our family greatly appreciates the kindness and skill of all of her doctors and other caregivers who have been involved with her medical care over the past 47+ years. Special thanks to her Orthopaedic Surgeons, Dr. Richard Turner, Dr. Joel Politi, and most recently, Dr. Vivek Sahai (one of her former calculus students), for their extraordinary skill in repairing and maintaining her affected joints. She then took full advantage of their surgical skills to live her life to the fullest and to the best of her physical abilities. She simply refused to give in to the challenges that afflicted her. We also want to thank all the caregivers at StoryPoint North Memory Care and Gentiva Hospice that provided her care and comfort over the last year of her life. While we are profoundly saddened by the loss of our beautiful Jane from our midst here on earth. We are heartened by the peace that our Lord's grace and comfort can provide to all of us while we grieve her passing. We will all try to live on, as best we can, to honor her memory, with the hope we have as followers of Christ, that we too are assured one day we will be with her once more in heaven, for all eternity.
