Services Held For Jan Laxton

September 8, 2005

Funeral services were held Saturday afternoon for Janice V. “Jan” Laxton, who worked for 30 years at Mountain People’s Health Councils, Inc., where she served as executive director.

Laxton, 67, died Wednesday, August 31, 2005, at the St. Mary’s Residential Hospice Care in Knoxville.

Services were held at Four Oaks Funeral Home in Oneida with the Rev. Phillip Kazee and the Rev. Steve Lakin officiating. Burial followed in the Smith Family Cemetery in the Black Oak community.

Laxton became ill shortly after her retirement on January 1, 2005. Up until that point, Laxton had guided Mountain People’s Health Councils, Inc. for three decades, from a single clinic in the Stoney Fork community of Campbell County to the establishment of others at Norma, Elgin, Huntsville, Oneida and Winfield.

The establishment of the clinics to serve low income residents of Scott County was made possible through Laxton’s grant-writing skills to procure funding from federal and other sources, and her ability to respond to the needs expressed by MPHC’s board of directors. She was also responsible for negotiating contracts and hiring physicians, nurses and other healthcare personnel, as well as clerical staff members.

She is survived by her husband of 48 years, James O. Laxton of Oneida; her father, Isaac Smith of Oneida; a daughter, Susie Pike of Oneida; a son, Mike Laxton of Clinton; sister, Pat Watson of Knoxville; and four brothers: James K. Smith, Billy Joe Smith and Tony Smith, all of Oneida, and Harold Smith of Knoxville; five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Serving as pallbearers for her funeral were Wesley Smith, Dana Chitwood, Shane Smith, Ron Marling, John Smith, Dustin Smith, Tony Cooper and Larry Watson.

In lieu of flowers, the family requested that donations be made to St. Mary’s Hospice Residential, 7447 Andersonville Pike, Knoxville, TN 37938-2920, in care of Ruthie Burner.

newsroom@ihoneida.com

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