Laurie "Bill" William Dixon - Obituary

orn Lauri Maki in Kakabeka Falls, Ontario, in 1940, Bill was adopted by Walter and Sylvia Dixon when he was about 10 years old. He grew up in Thunder Bay and then went to Colorado College in the US on a hockey scholarship in 1959. His beautiful skating served the Tigers’ defense (1960-1963) while he studied engineering. He also met his wife Margie at CC. Early in their marriage, Bill worked at Hudson Bay Company and then the Boeing Company outside Seattle; his first two children with Margie, Megan and Lisa, were both born in Bellevue. The family went on to move with Bill’s next job at Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel (PDM) to Utah, California, Wyoming, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma (where third daughter Beth was born), Western Australia, then back to California, and then to Texas in 1986. After short stints in Dallas and Memphis, Bill and Margie then lived in the Houston area until 2019 where Bill retired from American Bureau of Shipping in the early 2010's. As parents they emphasized courtesy, integrity, education, and hard work; all three daughters went to college (Megan at Rice University; Lisa at Trinity University; Beth at the US Naval Academy) and completed advanced degrees. All three remember Bill’s lessons in math during high school and his constant help in writing lists and getting tasks done. His skills with carpentry and furniture-building graced several of his homes with Margie as well as those of his daughters, from literally building two sun-filled rooms with wood burning stoves from the ground up to creating many pieces of Asian-style cabinetry. There was nothing broken that you couldn't call him to figure out how to fix. He was a generous host and gift-giver, bringing back beautiful things for the whole family from his business trips over the years to Europe, Southeast Asia, and one cherished trip to China. It was his pride to bring home paintings and other art objects for the home; he was also a constant reader and leaves a considerable personal library of world and military history, transportation, industry, and other cultures. He is predeceased by his wife Margie (2021) and survived by daughters Megan, Lisa, and Beth as well as grandson Rowan. Online condolences may be made using the Memories tab on this page.