Misty Baxter

Misty Baxter Bryson, age 45, passed away at her home on September 8th, 2025. She was born at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, NC. She was preceded in death by her father Henry Lee Baxter III, and will be lovingly remembered by Brian Bryson her devoted caregiver and husband, her mother Anita and husband Kelly Kowalczyk, her children; Justin and Alexis Tomlinson, siblings Stephen Jones, Christy Jones Turner and husband Brad, Vanessa Lea, Sunshine Baxter and Kelly Kowalczyk and his wife Ashley, as well as many nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Misty's life will be held at 2:00 pm, Saturday, September 20, 2025 at her home, 3060 Highway 274, Cherryville. She is remembered in the words below and forever in the heart's of all who knew and loved her.

Drop-dead gorgeous,

yet beauty was never skin alone-

she carried radiance in her laughter,

in her tenacity,

in the way she never surrendered to despair.

A spirit determined,

stubborn in the noblest sense:

she believed in growth,

in lifting herself higher,

while offering her hand to anyone

reaching for light.

Fun, passionate, generous-

her kindness poured itself freely,

though her trust was a treasure

hard-won,

and once given,

her love was fierce, enduring,

warm as a hearth fire on a storming night.

She bore compassion the way some bear scars:

hard won, deeply etched,

a testament to pain transformed into power.

Empathy, forgiveness, strength,

a gentleness that did not weaken

but fortified.

Her children-

the brightest constellations in her sky.

She loved them with a love

that only the eternal truth of a mother's heart can.

To Brian, the love of her life,

she gave her devotion,

finding in him a sanctuary,

a place where her spirit thrived,

where she knew the safety of belonging.

In his family's arms she found kinship,

gratitude blooming,

roots at last deep in the soil of love.

A daughter, sister, cousin, friend-

each role embraced with warmth.

She was feisty, a warrior,

a survivor who refused to let injustice

turn her bitter.

Instead she became healer,

first of herself,

then of others who crossed her path.

Misty was intelligent

in every way intelligence reveals itself:

in words, in wit,

in intuition sharper than most dared to trust.

An educated empath-

both scholar and soul,

reading energy, people, the quiet undercurrents of the world,

and translating them into care, into peace,

into guidance for those who sought her.

She sought healing like some seek treasure,

and shared her discoveries freely,

leaving behind ripples of resilience,

invitations to self-love,

proof that gratitude can be chosen

even after sorrow.

Her smile was contagious-

wide, unguarded, luminous,

eyes carrying hidden stories,

yes, but more so

a steady, unshakable warmth.

To be loved by her was privilege,

to love her back was grace.

She lived to raise the bar,

to grow, to give, to glow,

and she left the world richer,

brighter, more compassionate

because she walked through it.

Misty adored the nostalgia of the '80s,

the gentle whimsy of Care Bears,

the charm of tiny things,

the romance of old Victorian homes,

and the comfort of thunder on rainy days.

Yet perhaps one of her greatest gifts

was the way she reached into others' soul

and spoke truth,

not with judgment,

but with the gentleness of one woman

standing beside another.

Like how she reached out to me

not to demand, not to persuade,

but in her words she helped loosen the chains

I had bound around my own heart,

of guilt her journey also understandI, that I had carried far too long.

With wisdom earned through fire,

she reminded me:

Never change for anyone

unless it is to better yourself.

Those words were not simply counsel

they were keys that day,

unlocking the doors

to freedom, to self-love,

to the possibility of living lighter.

Her voice lingers in me still,

like a lantern lit in memory,

a flame I carry forward

as her light continues to guide

and heal beyond her years on this earth.

She was joy.

She was resilience.

She was love, fierce and unrelenting.

And though she left this world too soon,

her spirit endures-

a song of beauty and strength,

still teaching us how to rise,

still reminding us how to love.