Dixie L. Lehman
1942-2013
Dixie, 70, St. Joseph, Mo., was called home on July 22, 2013 after many years of pain and suffering. Per her wishes, she will be cremated with no visitation or funeral services. A celebration of Dixie’s life will take place at a future time.
Born November 11, 1942 in Detroit, Michigan to Ralph and Alberta Ward Hicks, Dixie was raised and spent her entire life in St. Joseph. She graduated from Lafayette High School in 1960 and married Jack D. Lehman in May 1961. Anyone who knew Dixie, loved her, especially the many friends she made in her years at St. Jo Frontier Casino, a job she enjoyed for 10 years until her heart attack in 2006. In her younger years, she also worked at Snow White Drive-In, Alley- Johnson Grain Co., and Lumberman’s Supply Co.
While her children were growing up, Dixie devoted her life to taking care of them and was a second mom to many of their friends. Whether she was driving to the skating rink, sporting events, or the swimming pool, she always had a station wagon full of kids. She spent years as a regular fixture on the bleachers at baseball games, keeping perfect score as the team’s official scorekeeper while chewing on her sunflower seeds. She enjoyed playing cards, bowling and golf and held many different offices in the Moila Ladies Golf Association and the St. Joseph Women’s Golf Association. Dixie loved to travel, whether on family vacations or accompanying her husband on business trips. She had been to 49 states and really wanted to get to #50, but her health just didn’t make it possible.
Dixie was preceded in death by her parents Ralph and Alberta Hicks, stepfather Fred R. Beattie Jr., brothers David Hicks, Fred Beattie III and Albert Beattie, and sister Ramona (Beattie) Corkins. She is survived by her best friend and beloved husband of 52 years, Jack; children David, Tom, Cindy and Robin; brother and sister-in-law, Jim and Sharon Hicks; 7 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
Mrs. Lehman will be cremated under the direction of Heaton-Bowman-Smith & Sidenfaden Chapel.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to Moila Temple Transportation Fund in Dixie’s Honor.