Dixon Brice

CHERRYVILLE - William Dixon Brice, 59, passed away peacefully on Jan. 24, 2016, at CaroMont Re-gional Medical Center in Gastonia.

Dixon was born in Charlotte on April 4, 1956, to Thomas William Brice Jr. and Nancy Dixon Brice of Belmont, North Carolina, both of whom preceded him in death. Dixon was also preceded in death by his brother, Thomas William Brice III, of Asheville, and is survived by his sisters, Nancy Craig Brice of Gulf Breeze, Florida, and Evelyn Brice Casey of Raleigh, his brother-in-law, Richard Bryan Casey, nephew, Matthew Brice Casey and niece, Emma McAllister Casey, all of Raleigh.

Dixon will be remembered by his family and countless friends as a loving, sweet soul, who was incred-ibly pure-of-heart. In addition to Dixon's biological family and his family at Gaston Residential Services in Gastonia, who lovingly cared for him for many years, some of his great loves were: the fellow resi-dents of his group home; his church, Victory Life Assembly of God, of Cherryville, where he was an active member since 2008; listening and singing to music by Johnny Cash; eating at local fish camps and steak houses; and Bojangles' sweet tea. Dixon never met a stranger, and never ceased to offer a genuine smile, handshake or hug to all he came into contact with.

In 2002, while employed as a member of the housekeeping staff of the Hampton Inn of Charlotte, a position he obtained through Employment Enterprises of Gastonia, Dixon was nominated for and awarded the North Carolina Personal Achievement Award for Persons In Supported Employment, and then went on to be recognized and honored for this award at the national level. Subsequent to receiving the national award, Dixon was most aptly described in an article by Erin E. Walker, in the Gastonia Ga-zette on August 10, 2002, as someone whose "supply of cheer is so great, he has to give it away."

Dixon will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him, and will be remembered on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016, at 2 p.m. at a memorial service at First Presbyterian Church of Belmont. The Rev. Samuel P. Warner will officiate and visitation will immediately follow the service in the gathering area of the church.

Memorials may be made to the Victory Life Assembly of God, Post Office Box 417, Cherryville, NC 28021 and to The Brice Foundation c/o Gaston Residential Services, 905 N. New Hope Road, Gastonia.

McLean Funeral Directors of Gastonia is serving the family where a guest registry is available online at www.mcleanfuneral.com