Baxter Frank Womack

If you ever met Baxter Womack, chances are very good that you remember him. If you knew Baxter (or Dr. Womack, Buster, Professor Womack, Dad, Papa, Uncle Buster, Uncle Baxter, or Red), you most surely will never forget him, for he has made your life better. He often said that his mission in life was to “help others get to the next level.” This mission was consistent with the people he met in every sphere of his life: family, church, career, ranch, social, or even the stranger he met on the street or at the check out counter.

Baxter was born as “Buster,” the fifth of eight children to Clifford Frank Womack and Dena Arzella Goff Womack in the Franklin County town of Charleston, Arkansas on September 5, 1930. When Buster was five, he contracted double pneumonia, and family members were called in to say their goodbyes. Instead, of course, he lived, becoming the last of his family’s generation. During his childhood and adolescence, Baxter developed his tremendous work ethic and discovered a life-long passion: the cattle business.

After graduating as an All-District Charleston Tiger football player, Baxter attended Fort Smith Junior College on a partial scholarship for basketball. After graduating, he joined the Army and then attended and graduated from Officer Candidate School. He married his sweetheart, a smart, beautiful Charleston farm girl, Wanda Lois Raney on January 26, 1952, wearing his uniform and with flowers from a recent funeral decorating Charleston’s First Baptist Church. He served in Japan during the Korean War, returning home to find out two things about Wanda: she had saved all the paychecks he had sent her, and she didn’t want him to go to war anymore.

Making use of the GI Bill, Baxter graduated from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, with both his B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering. Baxter and Wanda moved to West Lafayette, Indiana, where she earned her M.S. and he his Ph.D., managing to help plant a Southern Baptist mission church as they did so. It was there that a professor and advisor told Buster that he should change his name to “Baxter,” for professional reasons. So he did, to the chagrin of his father.

In 1960 Baxter joined the faculty of the College of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. There he helped countless undergrad and graduate students move to “the next level,” also doing consulting work for major companies and entities like NASA. Soon after they bought their first (and forever) home, stretching themselves and operating for a time with a card table and little else. They also joined Hyde Park Baptist Church, where Baxter soon became a deacon. He served on the Board of Deacons for many years, once serving as Chairman of the Deacons and serving many years as Chair of the Missions Committee, through which great advances were made for the Kingdom of God. He and Wanda were part of the leadership team of a Young Adult Sunday School department for decades.

Baxter and Wanda had two sons, both adopted as infants: Carey Bruce Womack and David Frank Womack (d. June 15, 2007). Along with work and raising their family, Baxter and Wanda sought to mentor others and together bought a ranch in Caldwell County, the “Double W Ranch,” where they raised award-winning Registered Red Brangus cattle. Baxter was also an avid Texas Longhorn sports fan (unless they were battling the Arkansas Razorbacks). After a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease, Wanda passed away at home on February 9, 2013, after 61 years of marriage. Baxter said of his loss, “I knew it would be hard, but it was much harder than I ever imagined.” He constantly encouraged young people to find a life-long mate, telling them of the wonderful woman he was married to for over six decades.

Baxter had a repertoire of favorite sayings he regularly shared with others, including this: Family is everything. Baxter was preceded in death by his parents, Clifford Frank and Dena Arzella Goff Womack; his beloved wife, Wanda; his son, David Frank; brothers, Bobby Ray, Adrian Isum, Clifford Julian, and Marvin Wayne, their spouses; sisters, Ruby Rachel (Olson/Kroh), Dena Marie (Bryant), and Othie Inez (Nees), their spouses; and many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, classmates, and friends.

Baxter is survived by his son, Carey Bruce; daughter in law, Sarah; grandchildren, Indiana Jason, Amanda Marie, and Carey Daniel; numerous nieces and nephews and their families (Among these are a special family living in central Texas who spent countless special times with him over the last years: great niece, Melissa, and her husband, Rick Cavalli, along with their children, Logan and newest great-great niece, Macie.), as well as by many good friends who are deserving of the designation “family” as well.

Visitation will be held at Cook Walden Funeral Home (6100 North Lamar, Austin, TX 78752) on Sunday, July 18th, from 4:00-7:00 p.m., with a second visitation from 1:00-2:00 p.m. on Monday, July 19th, at Hyde Park Baptist Church (3901 Speedway, Austin, TX 78751).

Funeral services will be officiated by Pastor Kie Bowman and held at 2:00 p.m., Monday, July 19, 2021, at Hyde Park, followed by a procession to the graveside service at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery (2800 Hancock Drive, Austin, TX 78731).

Baxter would want you to remember the following: Be a John 3:16 Christian; Make more than you spend; and Do your best, do your best, do your best!

Friends and loved ones are encouraged to leave their condolences, memories, and stories by going to cookwaldenfuneralhome.com and navigating to Baxter Womack’s page. Watch for information on how to livestream the service at Hyde Park. Those wishing to remember Baxter through a gift rather than in other ways can make donations at hpbc.org/give and designate your gift to missions, a cause close to Baxter’s heart.