Peggy Dixon's Obituary
Peggy Ruth Dixon, 87, of Tacoma, Washington, passed away on October 4, 2023, after a long illness.
Peggy was born on December 30, 1935, in Hooker, Oklahoma, to Alex and Viola Hofferber. She spent her childhood there until she became ill with spinal meningitis. As a result of her illness, Peggy lost her hearing. After her recovery, she attended Mrs. Brooks’ School for the Deaf in Purcell, Oklahoma, for a period of four years where she learned to lipread. At the end of that time, she continued her education at Hooker Public Schools. She graduated from Hooker High School in 1954. Peggy then attended Oklahoma College for Women in Chickasha, Oklahoma, and graduated with a B.A. in 1958.
In 1959 she moved to Washington where she met her future husband, Robert Dixon. Peggy and Bob were married in 1962. They had two sons, Eric Dixon, born in 1963, and Andrew Jon Dixon, born in 1968. They made their home in Redmond, Washington, until 2006 when they moved to Tacoma, Washington, to be near their son, Andrew, his wife Stephanie and, her grandchildren Delaney and Eliot. Peggy was an active members of the Puget Sound Association of the Deaf and Mother’s Club.
The focus of Peggy’s life was home and family. She was a prolific letter writer in the days before email became a common feature of our lives. Members of her family in Oklahoma and Colorado looked forward to receiving her long newsy letters. Her sense of humor and her expressiveness shone brightly in those communications. A common theme of her nieces and nephews on both sides of the family—the Dixons and the Hofferbers—is that she was a favorite. Her kindness and her witty sense of humor endeared her to them as well to everyone she met. This theme is repeated in her interactions with friends—friends from all stages of her life—and in her relationships with those who participated in her care.
She was a creative seamstress, an excellent cook, and an accomplished gardener. Another hobby of Peggy’s was her love of books and of reading. She read nearly everything she could get her hands on—the newspaper from cover to cover, fiction, poetry, nonfiction. A very important facet of her life was the love and friendship that she and her husband shared.
Peggy was preceded in death by her parents, Alex and Viola Hofferber; her husband, Robert; her son Eric; her sister Helen; her sisters-in-law Shirley and Evelyn; and two sons who died at birth. She leaves behind her son Andrew, his wife Stephanie, and their children, Delaney and Eliot, of Tacoma, Washington; her son Eric’s widow Linda and her granddaughter Ella, of Guymon, Oklahoma. Other surviving members of her family include two sisters, Donna Holzrichter of Hooker, Oklahoma, and Sandra Hofferber of La Junta, Colorado; numerous nieces and nephews—both Dixons and Hofferbers—as well as a number of great-nieces and great-nephews, and friends.
A memorial service and reception will be held on Sunday, October 15. The Memorial will be at 10:00 a.m. at Mountain View Memorial Cemetery’s Garden Chapel, located at Steilacoom Blvd SW, Lakewood, WA, 98499. A graveside service for family will follow at 11:30, and a reception with lunch will be held at the Star Center located at 3873 S. 66th St., Tacoma, Washington, 98409, beginning at 11:00 a.m.
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