Dentist with Local Ties Killed in Lebanon Motorcycle Accident

A motorcycle accident in Lebanon Friday night claimed the life of a dentist with ties to DeKalb County.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol reports that 62 year old Dr. Steven Thaxton died after his 1994 Harley Davidson ran onto a shoulder and hit some gravel while going around a curve on Hickory Ridge Road. According to a published report in the Lebanon Democrat, troopers said Dr. Thaxton lost control of the motorcycle and ran off the right side of the road. Thaxton was traveling west at 4555 Hickory Ridge Road near the Bonnie Valley Drive intersection when the wreck happened just before 9:30 p.m. Thaxton was wearing a helmet.
Thaxton was a dentist in Lebanon for 35 years. He was an elder at First Presbyterian Church, president of the Lebanon Flying Club, an FAA-certified flight instructor and certified flight instructor of instruments. Both he and his son, Paul, were Eagle Scouts. He was also chairperson for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital bicycle rodeos and served on several other civic committees.
The family of Dr. Thaxton will be receiving friends at Sellars Funeral Home in Lebanon on Monday from 4-8 p.m. The Memorial Service is 4 p.m. Tuesday at the First Presbyterian Church at 304 W. Main St. in Lebanon.
A graduate of DeKalb County High School, Dr. Thaxton is survived by his wife of 38 years, Brenda Thaxton. He is also survived by two children, Stefanie and Paul Thaxton. Biblings, Barry (Charlene) Thaxton, of Alexandria, Gay Cerney, of Portsmith Virginia and Walter Thaxton, of Lebanon.
Dr. Thaxton graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. He graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry in 1975 with his doctorate in dental surgery. He served two years in the U.S. Army as a captain at Fort Polk, La. Dr. Thaxton was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for “his expertise and rare talent in child management.”
Steve was a member and master of the Academy of General Dentistry, American Dental Association, Tennessee Dental Association, Tennessee 4th District Dental Society, Officer of the Tennessee Academy of General Dentistry, the American Endodontic Society, International Dental Health Foundation, Implantology Groups, Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation, on the Tennessee Dental Board Committee on Sedation, Tennessee Dental ACE award recipient and completed his IV sedation residency at the University of Alabama Dental School.
Sellars Funeral Home in Lebanon is in charge of arrangement.