Nixon, Jean Marie (1932-2015)
NIXON, GOTTFRIED, PETERSON
Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 3/29/2015 at 15:00:21
Jean Marie Nixon
January 24, 1932 - March 6, 2015Jean Nixon, age 83, of Storm Lake, Iowa, died on Friday, March 06, 2015, at North Lake Manor in Storm Lake.
Jean Marie Nixon, a daughter of Gordon and Lyla (Gottfried) Nixon, was born on January 24, 1932, on her grandparents’ farm, affectionately known as “Tutti Mom” and “Tutti Pop’s” farm, near Fonda, Iowa.
She grew up in the Fonda community, graduating from Fonda Public High School in 1950. She, then, went on to continue her education at Buena Vista College. There, she participated as a varsity cheerleader and as a member of the college choir; she joined Sigma Tau Delta, the Spanish Club, and the Phi Alpha Pi Sorority, and she served on the Swope Dorm Women’s Governing Board. She graduated in 1954.
Next, Jean taught in Laurens, Cherokee, Cedar Rapids, and Davenport. Then, she moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to teach in Robbinsdale, a suburb of Minneapolis.
In 1961, she took a year off from teaching to serve as a dorm counselor at Chadbourne Hall at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. There, she earned a master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling.
In June 1991, Jean took early retirement from teaching after thirty-six years of serving public school children. Of those years, she spent nineteen at the Storm Lake Middle School where she served as an English teacher and a counselor. Her achievements include co-editing an article published in the Minnesota Journal of Education and receiving the Outstanding Young Women of America Award as well as being selected to the National Register of Prominent Americans. Junior high students were her “pride and joy,” and after she retired, she missed having contact with them.
Jean enjoyed bowling immensely. After bowling a 255 game in 1974, she won a trip to bowl in the National US tournament. In addition, she liked traveling, especially the trips she took to Sweden, Austria, France, and Germany as well as to nearly every state in the United States. Moreover, she liked to ski, garden, camp, and serve as a substitute teacher in the new middle school. She, also, enjoyed music and participated in St. Mark's Lutheran Choir.
Those left to cherish her memory include her sister, Carole (William) Peterson, of Ankeny, Iowa; her brother, Ross (Kathy) Nixon, of Ankeny, Iowa; and her nieces and nephews; as well as extended family members and a host of friends. She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Bryce Nixon.
Funeral services will be held Monday, March 9, 2015, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Storm Lake. Burial will follow in the Cedar Cemetery in Fonda, Iowa. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service at the church. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements.
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