Obituary Overview
Evelyn Dixon
DIXON (McKinley), Evelyn Mabel – age 97 of Dartmouth. Evelyn, our dearly loved mother, grandmother, and great grandmother passed away February 11th, 2018 in Oakwood Terrace with loving family members by her side. She was a daughter of the late Harley and Hilda McKinley (Geldart). Evelyn was predeceased in 2003 by her beloved husband Ronald (Rev. Ronald Dixon, United Church of Canada), and in 2007 by her cherished daughter, Heather Clarke. She was also predeceased by her brother, Claude and sister, Marjorie, and grandson, Kevin. Evelyn is the loving Mom of Douglas (Barbara), Karlene (Vaughan) Murphy, and Brenda Dixon (Alaney Wight). Evelyn will also be greatly missed and remembered by her son in law, Eddy Clarke and her grandchildren, Kim (Paul), Darren, Brian (Cheryl), David, Jennifer (Sheldon), Nicholas (Holly), and Justin, and great grandchildren Kyle, Kelsey, Justin, Emily, Cailey, Courtney, Morgan, Elliott, Noelle Heather, Asher and Adrian. She was always so proud to let people know that she had eight grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren!
Evelyn and Ronald were married for over sixty years, and had a very special partnership together. Dad made a decision at age thirty-four, and with three children in tow, to enter the ministry and started Mount Allison University with Mom’s blessing. As Mom would say, they were poor as church mice but with the support of family and friends, Mom and Dad journeyed together in ministry for several decades. Dad made it clear before he passed away that Mom was a great partner and support, and he considered her an integral part of his career. Mom worked tirelessly, as a minister’s wife did in those days, to be by his side in his ministry, all the while keeping the home fires burning with four children. She was a lifetime member of the UCW, a CGIT leader, choir member and active in many other church organizations. If Dad was called out in the middle of the night, she would be right there to support him. Mom was legendary for her homemade brown bread, rolls and doughnuts, and was well known for saying that « she entertained over 100 people from the church in one year! »
Mom and Dad loved to travel together, and they had a lot of fun and good times travelling the Maritimes, across Canada more than once (including by train), to the Holy Land, and Bermuda. They wintered in Florida every year for over a decade, and they cherished their times there. Sometime after Ronald passed away, Evelyn moved to a lovely apartment at Parkland on the Lakes, where she lived independently until over age 95. She made many friends there and participated in various activities, and could be seen in the summers making her way along the pathways around the campus. She went grocery shopping weekly with wonderful staff from Home Instead (Lisa, Alexia), had the Halifax Chronicle delivered daily, enjoyed lots of family events and trips to Toronto, took several trips with her children, and to Alma NB to visit her dear cousin Frances Armstrong. Evelyn was sharp as a tack, proud, and fiercely independent. Over the past two years, Evelyn was hospitalized several times and moved to a nursing home, and her health declined. Her loss of independence challenged her indomitable spirit. She was determined to live only as long as she could live well.
Special thanks to so many staff at all levels at Oakwood Terrace. The weekend she passed away, many of her favourite staff were working, and their support was amazing, including several nurses. One of the staff in the kitchen said they loved Mom because she loved to eat!! A special shout out to the Continuing Care Assistants who were there for Mom. In addition, we are so appreciative of the unwavering support over the past two years from Mom’s niece, Gail and her husband, John, and to friends Bev Wicks and Marilyn Whitby.
Cremation has taken place, and Evelyn’s ashes will be interred beside Ronald’s in Alma, NB in the summer. A celebration of her life will be held at Grace United Church in Downtown Dartmouth Saturday, February 24th at 1:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, if desired, donations can be made to Oakwood Terrace Residents’ Recreation Fund, or to Grace United Church.
Evelyn’s love, wisdom, good counsel, sense of humour and inspirational thoughts will be sorely missed. Online condolences may be sent by visiting www.atlanticfuneralhomess.com (Dartmouth Chapel)
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Evelyn Dixon 2018.source
Décès pour la Ville: Dartmouth, Province: Nova Scotia
