Thelma Farr Baxter

Thelma Williams Farr Baxter (née Williams; October 27, 1912 – August 12, 1996) was an American politician, schoolteacher, and business owner who served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1950 to 1956. A member of the Democratic Party, she was first elected after running unopposed to fill the seat vacated by her late husband, Paul Farr, who had died in a car accident. She ran for re-election the following year against four primary opponents; after no candidate received a majority of the vote, a runoff election was held, which Farr won. After leaving office in 1956, she continued to teach English and managed a family business.

Early life and education

Thelma Williams was born on October 27, 1912, in Prentiss, Mississippi. She was the daughter of Hiram G. Williams, a physician, and Dora Calhoun. She graduated summa cum laude from Belhaven College in 1934, obtaining the Bachelor of Science degree in dramatics and a certificate in expression. Williams married Paul Farr, an incoming student at the University of Mississippi School of Law, on September 12, 1934, and they had two children, Betty and Paul Jr. In addition to her occupation as an English teacher, she was active in local and statewide organizations, including as secretary of religious education in the Woman's Auxiliary of the Meridian Presbytery and disaster chairman of the Jefferson Davis County Red Cross. On May 3, 1950, Paul, who was in the middle of his second term in the Mississippi House of Representatives, died from injuries he sustained when his car hit a cow on the highway.