MARY DIXON

DIXON, MARY Oct. 15, 1914 to Jan. 22, 2010 The Cookie Lady of Avenorra Drive Mary Dixon beloved wife of Donald R. Dixon CDR, USN Ret., passed away from natural causes on Friday, January 22nd, at the Arbor Convalescent Home in La Mesa, the city where she had resided since 1959. Mary was born in Brooklyn, NY, on October 15, 1914, to Harry and Molly Silbert. Both of her parents were Russian émigrés to this country and her father Harry, although he had graduated from the Moscow Conservatory of Music as a concert violinist, ended up as a band leader in Vaudeville. At the age of 15, Mary began her career in show business appearing in skits on stage with the Vaudeville stars of the day, Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason, Jimmy Durante and others. In the mid-'30s, Mary, whose stage name was Tiny Delmar, was managing and appearing in a show in The Panama Canal Zone where she met and fell in love with a striking young U.S. Navy Sailor and hard hat deep sea diver from Idaho, Donald Dixon. After a brief courtship, the two were married on April 13, 1938, and remained so until Mary's recent passing. Mary and Don were able to travel to many unique and interesting places during their marriage. Don attended Navy Flight School in 1938 and graduated at the top of his class and became a PBY pilot in the greatly decorated Patrol Wing 10, the first U.S. Navy squadron to receive the Presidential Unit Citation for their efforts on slowing the Japanese aggression in the early days of the war. Mary and Don lived in Hawaii until, with war approaching, Don sent Mary back to the mainland when his squadron was sent to the Philippines. Don barely escaped the infamous Bataan Death March when he and 12 other aviators and enlisted crew took over the Vichy French ocean liner Marechal Joffre and sailed to Java. During the war, Mary waited for her husband in Idaho and New York. When he returned from action, they spent the next 14 years of his Navy career living in Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, the Philippines, Pensacola, San Diego, San Francisco and Hong Kong. During this time, Mary was often the director of entertainment for the Officer's Clubs and always seemed to turn up a great celebrity from her past for festive occasions. Mary also was a wonderful patron of famed Filipino artist Ben Alano and helped launch his career in 1951. In 1946, Mary and Don had a son Donald and in 1955, they had another boy Mike. Don is an advertising executive with Cox Enterprises and Mike is a decorated Navy Veteran who is now a language teacher and athletic coach at California City High School. During her many years in La Mesa, Mary was always known as the "Cookie Lady" as she always had cookies for whatever child passed in front of her home on Avenorra Drive. Mary was also a prolific self-taught writer and she became a Lake Murray correspondent for the La Mesa Scout and had several articles published in the Union-Tribune. Mary also was the ghost writer of most of the top scoring essays Don and Mike "wrote" while attending Helix High School in the '60s and '70s. The statute of limitations has run out on grade changes so the truth can now be known. Mary also scribed more than 500 Haiku poems that were hysterical. She deftly coined them "Hokey Haiku," and indeed they were. Mary was also known for her often loud and riotous battles with the Dixon's Weimeraner Ziggy-Nau who somehow found it her duty to destroy whatever landscaping Mary deemed appropriate for the backyard. In the '60s and '70s, Mary also became the bookkeeper for the family business, Dick's Gulf, at 40th and University. Mary's math "skills" led to some interesting and expensive vacations for which the funds were never really available. Mary passed away at the age of 95 and although she was the smallest baby born in New York City in 1914 and given almost no chance to survive, she was able to live an incredibly long, healthy and fruitful life. Preceding Mary in death were her three siblings, Ralph Norton, age 88 at passing; Katie Boudreau, age 94 at passing, and Arthur Silbert, age 97 at passing. Mary is survived by her loving husband of 72 years Don Dixon, her son Don Dixon and his wife Maureen and their two children Chaucy and Mavrik of Atlanta, and her son Mike Dixon of Tehachapi, California, as well as her step-grand-daughter Amy of Lemon Grove. A memorial service and celebration of the life of Mary-Tiny Delmar-Dixon will take place at noon, on Saturday, January 30th, at El Camino Memorial, La Mesa-Erickson Anderson Chapel, 8390 Allison Avenue, La Mesa, CA. After the service, Mary will be interred at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.