Do you know how Dixie and her husband, Dave Thompson, met?

They took an airplane ride over Bear Lake, Michigan, on their first date when he was 20 and she was 19. No wonder she says that it’s her favorite vacation spot.

Dixie graduated from Lima schools and attended Bluffton College following high school. She was a housewife until 1989 when she started working at Marimor. She worked there 10 years before retiring with her husband. 

She says that her favorite occupation was being a full-time mom. Dave and Dixie have four children, Danny, Denise, Debbie and Dawn.

She also says that her family has and will always be a very important part of her life.

And, while husband Dave - they’ve been married 56 years - served as pastor at County Line Church of the Brethren, she sang in the choir.

What’s her favorite meal? Rump roast and mashed potatoes. As for a favorite pastime Dixie enjoys singing and has also written some songs.

One of Dixie’s fall traditions was cooking chili in an iron kettle over a fire and making apple dumplings for the family. She says this usually took place each October.