William J. “Bill” Dixon Jr., 89, of Wilmington, Delaware, passed away peacefully on February 18, 2024.
Bill was born in Missouri on February 9, 1935. He was a graduate of Beloit High School in Wisconsin. After high school, he attended the University of Kansas (KU), receiving his degree in aeronautical engineering. At KU he met his wife JeRue Dixon with whom he had his three children: Mark, John and Jill. A life-long, die-hard KU Jayhawks fan, he enjoyed following both of their football and basketball teams.
After graduating from KU, Bill was drafted into the army. One of his favorite stories about his time there was when he first arrived – one of his superiors asked if anyone knew how to type? Thinking he would get a desk job, he stepped forward. Thanked for his volunteering, he was sent to the mess hall to peel potatoes!
After two years in the army, Bill landed a job at Boeing as an aeronautical engineer. At Boeing, he first worked in Wichita, KS then was transferred to Seattle, WA. In 1964 Bill and family moved to Wilmington for what he thought would only be a short six-month assignment at the Vertol plant near Philadelphia; once settled in Delaware, he never left. He loved his work and remained at Boeing for 43 years, until his retirement. He had several different positions, including designing & building the wind tunnel in Eddystone, PA, working on street cars, and finally overseeing their computer division.
Starting in his 40s, Bill became an avid runner and completed several marathons. With his second wife Helen, they enjoyed attending cultural/historical tours, were avid theatre/symphony goers, and enjoyed ballroom dancing at the DuPont Country Club. In his later years, Bill also greatly enjoyed long road trips: visiting his childhood home with his cousins John Moore and Mike Cross, a cross-country trip with his son Mark for his grandson Ian’s wedding in Seattle, and with Jill, for a father-daughter trip to Florida to visit family.
Bill was known for wearing his yellow ruler suspenders and often received nice compliments on them. He would say “I wear them for two reasons … I get nice compliments from people like you and it keeps my pants up!” He will be remembered for so many things: buying every new Apple product (multiple times!), tipping at Arby’s drive through, love of jazz, swing and blues music, Amazon junkie, Tarzan books, watching sports with his kids (big Philly teams fan!), grilling steaks, and feeding birds and all the backyard animals that came to visit. Bill was especially proud of confronting his alcoholism and remained sober for nearly 50 years.
He is preceded in death by his wife Helen Kelly Dixon; parents William and Alma Dixon; and brother Robert (Bob) Dixon.
He is survived by his three children, Mark Dixon, John Dixon (Joni), and Jill Dixon, two grandchildren, Ian (Lindsay) and their two children Claire and Ryan, and Amanda Wright (Nick); “adopted” daughter Julie Martin and her husband Rick (his friend and landscaper for 28 years); and sister-in-law Ann, nephew Chris (Regina) and niece Courtney.
A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, September 18 at McCrery & Harra Funeral Home, 3924 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE. Friends may call beginning at 10 a.m., with a service at 11 a.m. Services will be livestreamed here: https://my.gather.app/remember/william-dixon-jr-sep-2024. Interment at Lawn Croft Cemetery & Mausoleum, Linwood, PA will follow.
He loved his many dogs and cats, many of them rescued. In lieu of flowers, family suggests donations to the Humane Animal Partners Delaware, 701 A Street, Wilmington, DE 19801.
