Dixie Weishaar, 81, of Freeland, WA, passed away on June 1, 2013, in Coupeville, WA. Her funeral service will be held on August 10, 2013, in Nortonville, KA, where she will be interned beside her husband, Alfred, who preceded her in death in 2003.

Dixie is survived by her brother Bill (91, of Mattoon, IL), and her sister Lois (85, of Redwood City, CA).

Dixie was born on Jun 14, 1932, in Cameron, MO, to Charles and Elizabeth Blethroade. She attended Smith-Cotton High School, and was married on September 23, 1950, in Oak Harbor, WA. In the early years of her marriage Dixie traveled extensively, living in Hawaii, California and Kansas, before settling in Michigan, where she embarked on a lifelong career as a wife and homemaker. During the course of their fifty-three year marriage, Dixie and Alfred established homes in Ypsilanti and Canton, MI, Schaumburg, IL, and Eureka Springs, AR. They were the proud patents of six children: Ron (61, of Chatham, MA), Linda (60, of Boca Raton, FL), Janet (57, of South Pasadena, CA), Tom (54, of Fayetteville, AR), Steve (49, of Roseville, MI), and Kris (47, of Langley, WA). Their life was also enriched by 18 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.

In addition to her lifelong devotion to her family, Dixie also took great pleasure in baking, writing poetry, reading the bible, and the company of the many friends she made during her long and productive life. She was an accomplished seamstress and an exceptional dancer.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to March of Dimes.

The family wishes to extend their gratitude to Maple Ridge Assisted Living Community in Freeland, WA, for the thoughtful and considerate care they provided during the latter years of Dixie’s life.

Dixie’s favorite poem was Kubla Khan, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, which she loved to recite word-for-word from memory. The last line of the poem is an excellent epitaph to Dixie’s life: “For he on honey-dew hath fed, and drunk the milk of Paradise.”