Diana Dixon

February 29, 2020

Diana Lynn Gunnoe Dixon was born to Mildred Maupin and Herbert Gunnoe in Beckley, West Virginia. Diane went home to be with her Lord after a courageous battle with pancreatic and liver cancer on Saturday, February 29, 2020, at the Sentara Hospice House in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She was 68 years old. A 1969 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley, West Virginia, Diana would go on to earn her Bachelors in Education from the former Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Diana is survived by her loving husband of 45 years, Billy Joe Dixon II of Portsmouth, Virginia; her two sons Jason Blair Dixon of Portsmouth, Virginia, and Ryan Scott Dixon of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; her only grandchild Makayla Lynn Dixon of Portsmouth, Virginia, and her loving cousins. She is also survived by the many children, many of whom are now adults with children of their own, that sat in her classrooms for over four decades that she was an educator. A loving Navy wife and teacher, Diana strived, to be constantly learning and to spread that knowledge with the world. Besides her husband Joe, being a teacher was the greatest joy in Diana’s life. Many will argue it was really her collection of M&M’s candy dispensers, but Diana woke up five days a week for over forty years ready to touch the lives and mold the minds of the future citizens and leaders of our great country. She worked tirelessly, often at the expense of her own family life, to ensure the children of other families were ready for what the world had in store for them. Her efforts will live on forever in the lessons she taught those young minds and the love of God and learning that she endlessly spread. As the author, William Arthur Ward wrote, “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” The family will receive visitors on Thursday, March 5, 2020 from 5 to 6:55 pm at the Loving Funeral Home, 3225 Academy Ave, Portsmouth, VA 23703. A service will follow at 7 pm Thursday, March 5, 2020. Diana will be laid to rest in a private family ceremony at the Albert G. Horton Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery in Suffolk, Virginia.