Adagene B Dixon's Obituary
Dixon, Adagene Bowman, 93, passed away quietly on March 15, 2011 at her home in Miami Lakes, Florida, surrounded by family. Born in Sikeston, Missouri, May 20 1917, to Margaret Vaughan Bowman and Joseph Bowman, Adagene was a graduate of Southeast Missouri State College. She majored in music and remained an accomplished pianist throughout her life. She met her husband Guy, originally from Hendersonville, N.C., when he was a pilot instructor in Sikeston for the U.S. Army Air Corps. They married in Sikeston on December 20, 1941 and Guy’s subsequent aviation career with Eastern Airlines brought them to Miami. They raised their family in Miami Shores, and Adagene supported and assisted Guy in the formation of a new business, Panelfold Inc., manufacturer of folding doors, operable walls, and folding partitions; still family owned and managed. These were exciting years for Adagene and Guy as they built the company and traveled the world for business and pleasure. In 1985, she joined her husband and son in the Rose Garden at the White House when President Ronald Reagan presented her husband with the U.S. President’s E-Star Award for Panelfold’s excellence in exporting. Adagene was a talented cook and hostess and a creative seamstress, quilter, and decorator. She was immeasurably supportive of her children and her grand children, as she had been of her parents as they aged. After Guy’s retirement from Eastern and Panelfold, they built their dream home Ocean Reef in the Florida Keys and lived happily there for twenty years until they moved to Miami Lakes to be nearer their children and grandchildren. In addition to her parents, Adagene is predeceased by her sister Elizabeth Fuchs, also of Sikeston, MO. Adagene is survived by Guy, her loving husband of 69 years, her son Guy, daughter Beth Geyer, son-in-law Russ Geyer, grandchildren Elizabeth Cuba and husband Eliecer, Russell Geyer III and wife Tammy, Zachary, Luke, and Emily Dixon and great-grandchildren Stephanie Padron and Amelia and Erick Geyer. The family wishes to acknowledge with deep gratitude the loving care given to Adagene by Marcia Leslie, her caregiver for over five years. Thanks also to caregivers Veronica Whyte and Myrna Wiltshire. Additionally the family thanks the invaluable care of Catholic Hospice of Florida. A private memorial service will be held at a later date. The family requests donations in Adagene’s name in lieu of flowers be made to Catholic Hospice of South Florida, 14875 NW 77TH Ave., Suite 100, Miami Lakes, FL 33014, or to a charity of choice.
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