Dixie McHone

Dixie McHone was born on January 8th 1933 in Payne Springs, TX. She was born in the middle of the Great Depression, and as the only child of Earl Raymond Burns and Lois Eunice Everitt Burns, she began her life living in a tent in incredibly hard times. As an infant and small child, Dixie's mother worked hard labor chopping cord wood to attempt to provide for their basic needs, described with stories of how her mom wrapped her up as a newborn during winter and placed her on the ground while chopping wood. When their situation became dire, her mother moved to Dallas to find employment, leaving Dixie for a short time with her fraternal grandparents and a cousin Billy Wayne Burnes who was close in age. When the reality of The Depression made other arrangements necessary, Dixie's Aunt & Uncle Bunella & Pete Dodson carried her to Dallas and placed her in Dean's Children's Home to be close to her mother. Dixie always spoke fondly of her time at Dean's Home where food was abundant and the clothes closet was full, allowing her to choose anything she wanted to wear. At the age of 8 (in 1941) her mother remarried to Ralph Sydney Payne (whom Dixie always considered her father), and all three lived together as a family in Dallas. Her parents later adopted a sister, Lisa Pace Schoefield. At the age of 19 while on a roller skating double date with her best friend, Marie Penn Phillips, Dixie met Gene McHone. They fell in love and Gene enlisted in the Korean War, but after being medically discharged they were married on January 1st, 1952. They made their home in Dallas, and were blessed with two children, Gena Lynn McHone Radcliff and Mark Everitt McHone. They moved to Terrell in 1966 where Dixie worked for Maytex (which became Madix Corporation). Her sunny disposition and bubbly personality were perfect for that job. In the mid 1980's Papaw "dragged" her to Canton, TX to live the country life of cows and gardening. Around 2012 they sold the farm and moved back to Terrell to be closer to family due to Gene's failing health. After Gene passed Dixie moved to Liberty Heights Retirement Community, where she loved telling everyone that she "felt like she lived at Neiman Marcus." Dixie made her final move into Her Savior's Arms, on November 22, 2023. Dixie was a creative soul. As a girl she enjoyed drawing and designing fashion, as well as spending as much time as possible with her cousins, Sammie & Tonya (Dodson). She had a heart of gold and spent a selfless, devoted life to all that she loved, befriending those who others passed by and overlooked. Dixie loved entertaining friends and family, and was always very active in Church functions. She loved to go places and eat new foods which she liked to mention was "because she had to cook the same boring foods for Papaw." Her house was always a special place for grandkids. She would prepare and have what was special for each grandchild ready for their visit. She enjoyed antiquing & junkin, going places (which gave her the nickname of Dixie Go Burns, and enjoyed playing cards, dominos and board games, especially Scrabble. Dixie's family fondly recalls that in her later years that her visits were going to be cut short, no matter who she was with, if the Dallas Cowboys game was about to start. She LOVED watching the Cowboys!!! Family and friends alike will always love and remember Dixie/Memaw for her abundant love and care. The one word that best describes Dixie is "Sweet." That is how everyone who met her described her. Dixie was preceded in death by her parents, husband and sister. She is survived by her two children & their spouses, Gena McHone Radcliff {Ron) and Mark McHone (Donna); Her grandchildren, Tiffany Radcliff Burch (John), Hailey Radcliff Beavers (Ryan), Jordan McHone {Samantha), Evan McHone (Shantelle), Ainslee McHone DeMars {Derek), Mark Hayden McHone (Emilee); her great grandchildren, Asher Burch, Tatum & Scarlett Swanson, Sean & Ryan McHone, Maren McHone, Declan & Felix DeMars, and Mark Griffin & Peter McHone.

Tributes

Dixie McHone

January 8, 1933 - November 22, 2023