Rebecca Sue Baldwin, 75, of Charter Oak, Mo. (rural Catron), passed away on Sunday, April 28 at her home surrounded by loved ones.
She was born March 27, 1938 in Center Ridge, Arkansas, to William Avery and Martha Elizabeth Ethridge Stobaugh. She was the oldest of four children, and from a very early age, she and her sisters helped their parents work the farm and harvest a huge garden.
She and Billy Arnold Baldwin Sr. were married June 26, 1954 in Hernando, Mississippi. With the exception of the years Rebecca was enrolled in college in Arkansas, the couple made their home in the Charter Oak area.
Survivors include her husband Bill of Charter Oak; their three children, Tamara Kay (Henry Sessoms, Sr.) of Cape Girardeau, Bill Baldwin, Jr. of Charter Oak; and Chris (Dana) Baldwin of Hillsboro; five grandchildren, Blake Kendrick, Brandon Kendrick, Megan Baldwin, Haley Baldwin, and Clay Baldwin; two step-grandchildren, Deidre Sessoms (David DeNuzzo) and Hank (Shannon) Sessoms; and three step- great grandchildren, Trey Sessoms, Alex Sessoms DeNuzzo and Jace Sessoms DeNuzzo. She is also survived by her father, William Avery Stobaugh of Dexter; three sisters and two brothers-in-law, Glenda and Gerald Barber of Dexter; Margaret and Walton Weaver of Beaumont, Tex., and Kathy Jones of rural Bloomfield; two half-sisters, Jeannine McCoy of Lubbock, Tex., and Jan (Allen) Powell of St. Clair, Mo.; four sisters-in-law, Patricia Baldwin of Essex, Pauline Baldwin of Cuba, Cassandra Breece of Jackson, and Irene Baldwin, of Benton; three brothers-in-law, Harry Swinger of Dexter, Randall Breece of Jackson, and Rick Baldwin of Sturdivant; two aunts and uncles, Wanda and Luther Bryant of Birdtown, Ark. and Peggy and Charles Holifield of Columbus, Miss.; thirty nieces and nephews, and a host of great nieces, great nephews, other relatives and friends. She is also survived by her beloved dogs Bitty and Buddy of the home.
She was preceded in death by her mother, an infant brother William Charles; her mother-in-law and father-in-law Bertie and Arzie Baldwin; three sisters-in-law, Hazel Tharp Baldwin, Pauline “Polly” Pannebecker, and Mary “Sis” Swinger; and seven brothers-in-law, Dick Baldwin, Harold Baldwin, Arzie “Junior” Baldwin, Roy Pannebecker, Larry Jones, Rawleigh Baldwin, and Ron Baldwin; a nephew, Rex Pettit, and a niece, Sara Jones Leija.
Rebecca graduated from Gray Ridge High School in 1955 in Gray Ridge, Mo., and from Arkansas State Teachers College in Conway, Ark., in 1959. She was a school teacher for 32 years and taught special education in the Bloomfield school district and elementary school in the Gray Ridge, Richland, and East Prairie school districts during her career. After retiring from teaching in 1991, she worked as a long term substitute teacher at the New Dawn School in Sikeston for a number of years. She was a member of the Missouri State Teachers Association.
She was a member of the Matthews Church of Christ in Matthews, Mo.
Friends may call at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter on Wednesday, May 1, 2013 from 5:00P.M. until 8:00 P.M.
Funeral services will be conducted on Thursday, May 2, 2013 at 10:00 A.M. in the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Chapel, with Jimmy Colvert, minister of the Matthews Church of Christ, and Walton Weaver, minister of the Major Drive Church of Christ in Beaumont, Tex., officiating.
Interment will follow in the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery near Bloomfield. Pallbearers include her sons, Bill Jr. and Chris Baldwin; grandsons Blake and Brandon Kendrick, and nephews Wes Carr and Kyle Jones.
Memorials may be made to the Larry B. Jones HOPE Campaign (Celebrating Healing, Optimism, Prayer, and Example), 23875 State Highway BB, Bloomfield, MO 63825, which assists families who are dealing with cancer.
