Funeral Services for Maxie Bay Gaddis, Age 91 of Mountain Grove, Missouri will be held on Monday, July 20th, 2026 at The Willow Springs Free Will Baptist Church, Willow Springs, Missouri, beginning at 11:00 AM. Visitation will precede the service, beginning at 10:00 AM. Burial will be in The Willow Springs Cemetery, Willow Springs, Missouri. The family would like to thank Autumn Oaks Nursing Home and Three Rivers Hospice for the care they provided.
Arrangements under the direction of The Craig-Hurtt Funeral Home, Mountain Grove, Missouri.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Willow Springs Cemetery in care of the funeral home.
Maxie Bay Gaddis, son of the late Robert Walter Gaddis and Ocie Pearl (Williams) Gaddis, was born on July 2, 1935, in the Huggins community and departed this life on July 15, 2026, surrounded by family.
Max played football all 4 years of high school for Houston High. Coach Hutsell would always give him a ride home after practice. He graduated from Houston High School in 1954. After graduating, Max moved to Springfield to work at Associated Wholesale Grocers. Happiness was just not yet found until he moved back to Mountain Grove to be with his sweetheart, Wanda Middleton. They were married on February 5, 1955, by Freda Richmond. One son, Mackie, was born to this union. Then they started their life together and career at Brown Shoe Company for over 40 years. After the shoe factory closed, Max and Wanda milked 9 years for a very special brother-in-law & best friend, Archie Skaggs. Archie and Max were notorious for their wrestling matches in their in-law’s front yard. If you knew Max and Wanda, you never seen one without the other.
He came to know another special friend, Rev. Bud Hill, who was a pastor at Willow Springs Free Will Baptist Church. People at the church had been praying for God to put Max under conviction to be saved. Max knew Bro. Bud would be leaving soon to pastor another church. On February 29, 1976, the Holy Spirit spoke to Max’s heart, and he became a born-again Christian. He loved his church and church family. Max and Wanda attended faithfully, setting an example for his family.
Maxie loved riding, breaking, and showing his fox trotter and barrel racing his quarter horses. He won many blue and red ribbons. Later on, he took up fox hunting. He loved to listen to his hounds run a red fox. Sitting on top of a hill by a campfire on a country road with his hunting buddies, Coy Barnett, Darrell Swofford, George Swofford, Cecil Gaddis, Virgil Akers, Don Mayfield, and many others. These were some of his fondest memories. He had one special hunting buddy, Claude Cantrell.
Maxie loved his horses and hunting, but most of all, he loved his wife and family. When his grandchildren, Matt and Melissa, were born, he was the proudest grandpa, but we all knew him as Pop. He was an avid Panther fan. He never missed Matt or Melissa’s games, no matter how early the cows had to be milked. The last ten years, he was converted to a Norwood Pirate fan following his great-grandsons as long as his health permitted.
Maxie always had a hard, strong work ethic, which he passed on to his son and grandchildren.
Besides his parents, Robert and Ocie, he was preceded in death by his in-laws, Jess and Elma Middleton; brother, Efra (Velma) Gaddis; sister, Doris (Allen) Flowers; sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Irene (Lee) Bradshaw, Jeannie (Curtis) Shaw and Lola (Archie) Skaggs.
Max is survived by his wife of 71 years, Wanda; his son, Mackie Gaddis and wife, Tammi; grandchildren, Matt Gaddis and wife, Michelle, Melissa Vaughan and husband, Clint; great-grandchildren, Riley, Brady, and Bentley Vaughan, Baylee and Matilyn Gaddis; sisters, Dixie (Ron) Stallcup and Donra (Dickie) Douglas, and many nieces, nephews, and a host of other family and friends.
