Robert T. Baxter (1913-1975) was born in Grand Rapids. A lifelong resident of Grand Rapids, he became the third generation of the Baxter family to head the company in 1956. The company went bankrupt in 1974, and in 1975 the City of Grand Rapids acquired ownership.

Robert Baxter graduated from Westminster School at Simsbury, Conn., and the University of Michigan in 1935. After graduating, he joined the family business, becoming division sales manager in 1937 and division manager of the Grand Rapids plant in 1941. In the spring of 1942 he enlisted in the Navy. He served many months on patrol duty in the North Atlantic and in the Pacific. His most exciting moments in the Navy were spent as an executive commander of the destroyer Litchfield. After the war, he returned to the family company. He became vice president of the company in 1947 and executive vice president and general manager in 1953.

Baxter was a member of the Grace Episcopal Church and the Grand Rapids Rotary Club. He was a Commodore of the Grand Rapids Yacht Club and a former member of the Peninsular, University and Kent Country Clubs.

He married Elizabeth (Breckenridge) on May 15, 1937. They had two children: Elizabeth Poage and John H. Baxter.

Howard F. Baxter (1886-1969) was president and general manager of Baxter Laundries Corporation, and an avid recreational sailor. In addition, he held numerous public offices ranging from city parking authority chairman to state representative and state senator.

Baxter was born in Grand Rapids, to Alfred and Kate Baxter. He was educated in city schools and earned an electrical engineering degree at the University of Michigan in 1909. At Michigan he was prominent in the engineering school affairs, and was elected to Tau Beta Pi, scholastic honorary society. In addition, he was an active member in the social fraternity Alpha Delta Phi.

Following graduation he became a district manager with the New York Telephone company for two years, in charge of Troy, Schenectady, Albany and surrounding territory. In 1912 he quit the telephone company, returning to Grand Rapids to become manager of the Grand Rapids, Muskegon, and Kalamazoo branches of Baxter Laundries Company. The company was founded in 1876 by Alfred Baxter in the basement of the haberdashery firm of Gardner & Baxter on Monroe Ave.

In 1922 Howard was elected to his first public office, state representative from Kent County 1st District. He followed his two year representative stint with a two year term as state senator from the 16th District. By the time he retired from the senate in 1928, his laundry firm had become the largest corporation of its type in the world, owning 30 cleaning plants in 17 states. It was also during this growth period that he founded his own radio station, WBDC, which he renamed WASH when a competing station, supported by furniture interests, changed its name from WEBK to WOOD. Later the two stations merged into one with the call letters of WOOD.

Along with managing the laundry, Baxter served as city welfare adviser from 1932 to 1934 and was appointed to the Municipal Utility Board in 1934. During World War II he worked in the Defense Transportation Organization and was civilian war transportation chairman for Kent County. After the war he took on another city post, acting as chairman of the Automobile Parking Authority from 1947 to 1952. During his tenure on the authority, Baxter was an outspoken advocate of city provided downtown parking. He felt the city had a moral obligation to supply outlying businessmen with off street parking when they came downtown. Thus, it was appropriate that he supervised construction of the city's first municipal parking ramp at W. Fulton St. and S. Division Ave. In 1955, at the age of 69, Baxter eased out of public life. He stepped down as president of the laundry and accepted no other public offices.

Socially, Baxter was a Peninsular Club member and a founding member of Kent Country Club. He was a member of the Macatawa Bay, Grand Rapids and Spring Lake Yacht Clubs and had been, at one time or another, commodore of each. He continued to sail vigorously until he was 81. Therefore, it was appropriate that he received the nickname "Skipper." He also was active in the Downtown Rotary Club and a member of Grace Episcopal Church.

In 1910, Baxter married Miss Elizabeth Clapperton, graduate of Mt. Holyoke College. They had two children Elizabeth and Robert T.