Thomas D. Dixon

        Columbus - Thomas D. Dixon, 77, formerly of Apple Valley, passed away peacefully on July 20, 2019, at Hospice of Central Ohio in the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. 

        Born January 26, 1942, Tom was a 1960 graduate of Toledo’s Central Catholic High School. He studied business at Kent State and served in the Ohio National Guard before starting his family and career. He spent most of his career in sales, working as a territory sales manager for Goodyear before opening his own Goodyear store in Mansfield.  He invented the Warehouse Sale while working for Goodyear in Elyria. He also could not resist a good sales pitch, choosing his children’s (wonderful) childhood home in response to a solicitation from a door-to-door salesman. He also leaves behind a large collection of gas grills won while attending time share sales events. 
 

         His mother introduced him and his identical twin brother Tim to boxing as young boys by giving them each a set of gloves to help them resolve their disputes, often instigated by big brother Spencer. Tim and Tom agreed on only one thing, which was that they were nothing alike. They once argued that point after arriving at a family event wearing the same outfit. Both became Golden Gloves boxers, learning skills that served them well later in life as they both fought and won against heart disease and other serious illnesses. Death has been heard to complain that the Dixon brothers were hard to kill. Only post-surgical infections got the best of Tom. A death by that cause counts only as a technical knock- out. 

        Tom’s version of the good life had a few absolute essentials: a card game, a set of golf clubs, a lake house with a boat, a dance floor, a lifetime of weekend family gatherings, and two eggs over easy with toast and crispy bacon. Did you hear that? Crispy bacon. Make sure the bacon is crispy.

        He was preceded in death by his parents George and Garnet (Bellaire) Dixon, his son Joel Dixon, his nephew Jeff Dixon, and his brothers Spencer, Timothy and William Dixon. Close in life, the brothers all died close in time. Tim went first fourteen months ago. The family suspects he called the other three for a heavenly game of euchre. 

        Born into a large loving family, he made another one for himself. He is survived by Brenda, his beloved wife of thirty years whose love and care sustained him, his children Heidi (Thomas) Reichelderfer and James (Denise) Dixon, his step-children Sheryl (Michael) Nugen, Kerry Gray, Christy (Stash) Habowski, and Teresa (Jeff) Gray, his sisters Sue Lintz, Catherine (John) Toth, and Constance Fish, his life-long friend Edward (Peggy) Cutcher, his fourteen grandchildren, his nineteen great-grandchildren, and more nieces, nephews and cousins than one can count. 

        A funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 25 at the St. Luke Catholic Church in Danville. Father Daniel Olvera will officiate. Visiting hours will be from 5-7:00 Wednesday evening at the Fischer Funeral Home, 403 High St. Danville, and an hour prior to the service at the church on Thursday.

        In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donation to The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, 460 West 10th Avenue Columbus, OH 43210, or at giveto.osu.edu/makeagift. Information is available at fischerfuneralhome.com

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