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Matthew W. Paxton Jr., 96, retired editor and publisher of The News-Gazette, died peacefully on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, after a short illness at Kendal of Lexington.
He was born Feb. 26, 1927, in Lexington. His parents were the late Matthew W. Paxton and Nell Owen Paxton. He attended local elementary schools and graduated from the Darlington School, Rome, Ga. After graduation, he served in the US Navy at the end of World War II. He graduated from Washington and Lee University in 1949, was valedictorian of his class and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Following graduation, he taught at the McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tenn., for a year. In 1951, he received an master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, and then went to work for the Lynchburg News in Lynchburg. In 1952, he returned to Lexington to become editor of the Rockbridge County News, which had been owned by his father and grandfather. In 1953, he married Mary Raine Winfree, of Lynchburg.
In 1962, Paxton and Houston Harlow, the owner and publisher of the Lexington Gazette, agreed to a merger of the two newspapers, creating The News-Gazette. He was publisher and editor of the paper until his retirement in 1994.
Paxton was instrumental in the creation of a number of local institutions. Along with a group of local people concerned with the preservation of historic buildings in Lexington, he helped form the Historic Lexington Foundation in the late 1960s, and served as president and on the board for many years. He was also involved in the formation of the Lexington Downtown Development Association, where he also served as president. He was on the committee that worked to create a continuing care retirement community in Lexington, which ultimately became Kendal at Lexington.
He was the chair of first capital campaign in 2001-2003 for the Rockbridge Area Free Clinic, now the Rockbridge Area Health Center. In 1994, he was named Business Individual of the Year by the Lexington- Rockbridge Chamber of Commerce.
In addition, he served on numerous boards, including the Lexington-Rockbridge Chamber of Commerce, the Virginia Press Association and Stonewall Jackson Hospital (now Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital.) He was an active member of Lexington Presbyterian Church his entire life, serving as both an elder and deacon.
He loved music, and sang in the Presbyterian Church choir for many years. He played the piano, playing up until a few months before his death.
He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Mary Raine; four children, Matthew W. Paxton IV and his wife Lynne, William W. Paxton and his wife Carter, Macon Paxton Ivy and her husband John, Nell Paxton Cyr and her husband Larry, and daughter-in-law Margaret Ann Paxton. Also surviving are eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. A brother, Robert O. Paxton and his wife Sarah Plimpton also survive, as well as his first cousin and lifelong friend Sally Christian Holland.
A private burial service will be followed by a memorial service at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 28, at Lexington Presbyterian Church, followed by a reception at Kendal of Lexington.
Harrison Funeral Home and Crematory is handling the arrangements.
Memorial donations may be made to ConnectionsPlus Healthcare + Hospice, 315 Myers St., Lexington, VA 24450.
