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obituaries Baxter, a member of the U.S. Figure


Skating and PSA halls of fame, had a short- lived amateur career. At the 1940 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, he earned the men’s bronze and a silver in pairs with partner Hedy Stenuf. He was named to the 1940 U.S. Olym- pic Team, but the Games were canceled due to the escalating war in Europe. The 1944 Games also were canceled. Although a Canadian, Baxter served in


the U.S. military from 1943 to 1946 and was a member of the famed 10th Mountain Di- vision that fought in Italy. He later became a U.S. citizen. “We had 28 professional ice skaters in


our division,” Baxter said in a 2009 interview. When he returned from war, Baxter


turned pro and became a popular ice show skater, starring with the Rockefeller Center Theater in New York from 1946 to 1950. When it closed, he joined Sonja Henie and the Hol- lywood Ice Revue until it closed in 1956. In all, Baxter skated in 5,493 performances, never missing a show. When the Ice Revue closed, Baxter and


his brother, Meryl, opened an ice rink in near- by Walnut Creek, Calif. Among their early stu- dents were Tickner and Peggy Fleming, who went on to become the 1968 Olympic cham- pion. Baxter coached for nearly 50 years. In 1961, the Baxter brothers opened the


Santa Rosa Ice Arena, where “Peanuts” car- toonist Charles Schulz and his wife, Joyce, brought their five children for skating lessons. The Schulz family skated there and even per- formed in shows. But when a structural prob- lem with the roof promised to close the rink for six months, Schultz stepped in. Baxter told the Santa Rosa Press-Demo-


crat in 2009 that Schulz called him and said, “Skippy, if I build a new rink, will you and your brother run it?” “Without hesitation, I said ‘yes.’ ” The Schulzes opened the Redwood Em-


pire Ice Arena in 1969. Meryl Baxter was its manager; Skippy Baxter was the director of instruction. He and Charles “Sparky” Schulz, who died in 2000, became lifelong friends. Baxter was born on Dec. 6, 1919, in Wel-


don, Saskatchewan, Canada. He is survived by two children, David Baxter and Debbie Bax- ter, and two grandchildren. His wife, Phyllis, passed away in 2008.


— Barb Reichert MAUK C. Dallas Mauk, a gold-test judge, nation-


al referee and a longtime member of the Den- ver Figure Skating Club, passed away on Jan. 4, 2013. He was 90 years old. Mr. Mauk also served on the United


States Figure Skating Association Execu- tive Committee from 1965 to 1971 and was a technical representative at the 1988 U.S. Championships. He was born in Great Falls, Mont., and


came to Denver at age 10. He grew up in East Denver and graduated from Manual High School. Mr. Mauk enlisted in the Navy at the start of World War II, where he served as a so- nar man on the destroyer escort USS Gilmore in the Aleutian Islands. He was stationed at a


naval medical facility in San Diego, Calif., until 1944.


Upon returning to Denver, he interned under the GI Bill at downtown Denver’s Cel- la Jewelers, which he subsequently bought and transferred to the Cherry Creek Shopping Center in 1973. When the mall was being re- developed in 1986, Mr. Mauk sold his remain- ing seven-year lease and retired to become an avid golfer, world traveler and community volunteer. He resided in Centennial, Colo., at the time of his death. Since 1976, he was a dedicated mem-


ber of the South Denver Kiwanis Club, which three times named him Kiwanian of the Year for his devotion to club programs such as Kids Against Hunger. He is survived by his wife of 43 years,


Dorothy; daughter Dalean Greenlee (Lonny Janes) of Colorado Springs, Colo.; son Paul Mauk (Anne) of New Canaan, Conn.; stepson Tim Eccles (Deedra) of Overland Park, Kan.; six grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Donations may be made in Mauk’s honor


to the South Denver Kiwanis Foundation, PO Box 101405, Denver, CO 80205-1405.


at the time did not have an indoor rink. Meiss founded the Queen City Figure


Skating Club in 1956 and served as its presi- dent from 1971 to 1974. She started the club’s scholarship fund and was its delegate at ev- ery U.S. Figure Skating Governing Council. Wanting to showcase the city and the sport, Meiss was instrumental in bringing the 1979 U.S. Championships and 1987 World Champi- onships to Cincinnati. “The city loved her,” said Marlene Shma-


lo, a past club president and a longtime close friend. “Her name is like gold here.” Meiss’ passion for figure skating came in an unlikely manner. A talented swimmer, div- er, equestrian and tennis player, she began skating in Chicago when she was 12. “She was a gifted athlete and very good


at everything she did,” Shmalo said. “But skat- ing was difficult for her. Still, she fell in love with it.” While attending an event as a fan, her


husband encouraged her to introduce herself to Margaretta Drake and Harry Radix. After some discussion, they convinced her to at- tend a judges’ school in East Lansing, Mich. Meiss bought a $25 Greyhound bus ticket that changed her life and resulted in a lifetime of globetrotting. She took judging seriously and respect- ed the position immensely. But first and fore- most, Shmalo said, she respected the skaters. “One night, during hospitality, Nancy


was standing with a young man who did trial tests,” Shmalo recalled. “He said, ‘I really enjoy failing some of these kids.’ Nancy spun around and said, ‘Listen, if the kid has done the work and you find it acceptable, you will pass that kid or go find something else to do with your life.’


“I don’t remember ever seeing that


young man again.” Meiss served on numerous U.S. Figure


Skating committees, helping shape the or- ganization she loved so much. At the time of her death, she was an active member of the Memorial Fund committee and an elector for the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. She was a team leader at several inter-


MEISS [Hall of Fame Class of 2009] Nancy Meiss was a fixture at figure skat-


ing events far and wide. A distinguished 50- year judge, a tireless volunteer and one of the sport’s most ardent supporters, Meiss passed away on Jan. 1, 2012, in Cincinnati. She was 90 years old. Meiss, who was born on Dec. 12, 1922,


began her career in 1958 as an ice dancing and figures judge. She judged at every lev- el, including World Championships and the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary. In 2009, she was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. “I am honored, I am humbled, and I real-


ize there are so many other people who de- serve this honor and I thank them for giving it to me,” Meiss said at the induction ceremony. Meiss, who grew up in the Chicago area,


moved to Cincinnati in 1942 after marrying Harry Meiss. Shortly after her arrival, she set her sights on improving and expanding fig- ure skating in her adopted hometown, which


national events and attended each Olympics, World Championships and U.S. Champion- ships. In 1980, she chaired the practice ice for the Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid. “It was the most interesting, excit-


ing time of my life,” Meiss said in 2009. “We worked 12- to 14-hour days and enjoyed ev- ery minute of it.” At those Games, Meiss had the pleasure


of watching Scott Hamilton, who years earlier struggled both competitively and financially. In 1972, when Hamilton was 13, his mother asked the respected judge for advice. “Nancy was very candid, and my moth-


er liked that about her,” Hamilton wrote in his book Landing it: My Life on and off the Ice. “(Meiss) agreed that a change was called for: If I was to get to the next level, I needed a coach who understood the next level.” Meiss introduced a young Hamilton to


coach Carlo Fassi and sponsors Helen and Frank McLoraine, who helped transform his skating and his life. In 1984, Hamilton won the


SKATING 45


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