Gladys Dixon, 83, retired keypunch operator
Longtime Mount AIry resident was devoted to her church
GLADYS THOMAS DIXON, a retired keypunch operator at Cigna Corp. who was active in her church, died last Monday at her Mount Airy home. She was 83.
Dixon was born and reared in West Philadelphia, the seventh of 10 children of Arthur and Julia Thomas.
A 1951 graduate of West Philadelphia High School, Dixon also attended the Philadelphia School of Office Training, La Salle University, and the Bible Way Institute.
Besides working for Cigna, Dixon worked as a clerk-typist for the Veterans Administration. And for a while, she also worked for her brother at Thomas Fuel Oil Service in West Philadelphia, one of many family-owned businesses.
Dixon was married for 62 years to William L. Dixon, who was a Philadelphia police officer. She died just a few weeks after the one-year anniversary of her husband's death on Feb. 5, 2015, said Denise Dancy, one of the couple's two daughters.
The Dixons enjoyed traveling and cruising to the Caribbean. But Gladys Dixon took the most joy in her daughters, Dancy and Debbie Beeks. She also loved sewing and shopping.
"My father was the one who liked to travel, so she just went along," Dancy said. "She was more family-oriented and loved spending time with her family.
"When we were younger, my mother sewed our clothes and my sister and I were often in matching outfits."
Dancy said her mother was "strong-minded about her beliefs."
"She really valued education and she instilled the importance of getting an education in us and her grandchildren."
Dancy, now retired, was a teacher and school counselor. "My sister is a librarian and is one of the few school librarians in Philadelphia,"she said.
At a young age, Dixon joined Mount Olive Baptist Church, on 37th Street near Wallace, where her father was a founding deacon.
Dixon later joined 48th Street Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in 1957, and served on the usher board ministry for 55 years until her health failed.
In addition to her daughters, Dixon is survived by a sister, Corrine Thompson; two brothers, Melvin Thomas and Morris Thomas; one son-in-law, Clifford Dancy; four grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and a host of relatives.
A viewing is scheduled for 9:30 to 11 a.m. Tuesday at the 48th Street Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, 5539 Vine St. Services will follow at 11 a.m. Interment will be at Rolling Green Memorial Park, 1008 West Chester Pike, West Chester.
215-854-5987N>@ValerieRussDN