Mary Anne Dixon

March 28, 1938 - August 23, 2016

On Tuesday, August 23, 2016, with her family by her side, Mary Anne passed away peacefully at the Olds Hospital and Care Centre. She was 78 years of age and will be dearly missed by her family and friends. She is survived by her loving children, daughter, Mara-Lee (Dave) Moroz of Olds; three sons, Perry (Ginny) Haubrich of Strathmore, Dean Haubrich of High River, Greg (Jessica) Haubrich of Brisbane, Australia; five grandchildren, Heidi Haubrich of Calgary; Michael Moroz of Calgary; Erin, Megan and Cara Haubrich all of Edmonton; along with Granny's special grandog, Sprocket (the Cocker Spaniel) Moroz of Olds; three brothers, Bruce (Stella) Dixon of Medicine Hat, Chester Dixon of Milk River, Dean Dixon of Vulcan; brother-in-law, Mike Smith of Mankota; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and many good friends. Mary Anne was predeceased by her parents, Dr. Hugh Leslie Dixon and Laura Anne Dixon (nee Uglum); brother, Bryan Dixon; sister, Barbie Smith; sister-in-law, Joyce Dixon, along with nephew, Dawson Dixon. Mary Anne was born in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan on March 28, 1938 to Dr. Hugh and Mrs. Anne Dixon, during what was said to be a terrible winter storm. She was Hugh and Anne’s third child (older brothers Bryan and Bruce) and their first of two daughters. Over the next 9 (almost 10 years), three more children would be welcomed into the family, Barb, Check and Dean. Mary Anne spent her childhood years growing up in Shaunavon with summers at the family ranch south of Val Marie. The “Dixon house” in Shaunavon was located on Main street and only a short distance from the school. I’m told that the house was always full of kids – their own 6 plus many other friends and “strays” who happened by on their lunch hour or after school. The ranch, being a distance from town, meant there were fewer visitors, but it also meant that their neighbours were more like family than friends. In the latter part of the 1950’s Mary Anne left home to move to Calgary where she attended hairdressing school. There, she lived with her cousin Peggy MacGougan, her husband Keir and their 4 children. Mary Anne completed her Journeyman Certificate in Beauty Culture and moved back to Shaunavon to start her career. There, she met Darrel Haubrich, a Hodgeville boy working in Shaunavon. They started dating and were married on April 30, 1960 in a quiet ceremony with only a few family and friends in attendance. In December 1961, they were blessed with their first child, Perry, followed by Dean in May 1963, Mara-Lee in October 1965 and Greg in May 1972 (yes, the siblings always thought Greg was an OOPS!). Grandpa’s career with Federated Co-op took him, Granny and their growing family to a number of destination hot spots in Saskatchewan and Manitoba: Shaunavon, Lestock, Kindersley, Regina, Swift Current, Eastend, Lestock (cause they didn’t get enough of it the first time), Rocanville, Arborg, MB; Maple Creek and Outlook. Granny set up shop in their home(s) and hairdressed for a number of years as the kids were growing up. In Maple Creek, she got an office job with the Health of Animals, which she thoroughly enjoyed. In 1984, Grandpa and Granny parted ways. Granny remained living and working in Outlook until after Greg graduated from high school in 1990, when she relocated to Saskatoon. In Saskatoon, she got a job working at Fabricland, which she loved, and which allowed her to pursue her love of crafts, and in particular sewing. In March, 2003 (right around the time that she turned 65), Granny moved to Olds to be closer to all of her kids and us grandkids who had relocated to Alberta. Granny was very proud of her roots. Her Grandfather and Great Uncle were of the earliest to settle in Maple Creek, NWT in 1883. Originally from Peterborough Ontario, the brothers had moved to Oshawa to set up business. In 1883, they left Oshawa, Ontario with a carload of merchandise intending to setup a store in Calgary (then called “the crossing of the river”), but the Canadian Pacific Railway that was under construction at the time ended at Maple Creek, NWT. So, that fall, they set up their store in a tent in Maple Creek. Later the tent was replaced by a small frame building which later gave way to a large stone structure which was known as the “Dixon Bros. store”. Mom was in her glory when in 1979, our family relocated to Maple Creek. She very much felt like she was at home there, and at the Cypress Hills, where some of the Dixon family, including hers for a period of time, had cottages. Granny’s father, known by most as “Doc”, was a government veterinarian who provided veterinary services from Shaunavon south to the US Border. In addition, Doc ranched south of Val Marie for many years before his son Bruce took over in 1956. In 2010, the Dixon family ranchlands were acquired by the Grasslands National Park. For those of you that know Granny, you won’t be surprised to hear that she loved meeting people and would within minutes, try to connect her new acquaintance with others she knew. Her address book was very thick and she was incredibly good at remembering the finest of details about someone, their children, neighbour, dog or whatever. After Granny passed and we started to go through her address book, we learned that she had contact numbers for many of her friends and acquaintances as well as their kids and grandkids and so on. On occasion, as adults, our parents (and aunt or uncles) have had what they referred to as “Mary Anne moments” when they would meet someone, ask where they were from and start to “connect the dots”. When any of us share the story with another (because we too are now excited about making those connections), we give the other a hard time and always acknowledge Granny. In contacting her friends recently, several commented that they have lost their historian – she would remember what others had long forgot about. Granny had a love of crafts – you name it, I think she tried it and perhaps it could be said that she “mastered them”. She was very creative. Ceramics and pottery, macramé, rosemalling, sewing and quilting were just a few of the crafts that she did for years. Each of her children received a quilt for their wedding and each of us (children and grandchildren) were gifted more than one t-shirt, dress shirt, hoodie, pair of pajamas, purse, coat, pillowcase, or whatever else you might imagine. Some of our favourites include: Tea towels for Perry and Ginny’s wedding; Michael’s and Granny’s matching plaid pajamas (although the polar bear pajamas were great too); the zebra, mummy, Hercules, Harry Potter, Darth Vader and Princess Leia Halloween costumes; matching dresses for Heidi and her Gauthier cousins, and of course, Dave’s raspberry colored polar fleece. Although we always sort of knew, when we moved Granny a few years ago, we learned just how big her stash of fabric, lace, thread, zippers, beads and other craft supplies really was! We donated a truck full of supplies to a few groups of crafty ladies who make quilts and stuffed animals for charity. They were thankful and mom was pleased it could go to a good cause. Over the last 5 years Granny dealt with a number of health issues. Fortunately in the last four months of her life, some aspects of her overall health improved, such that we, as her family got to enjoy having our Granny back. She was as sharp as a tack and could kick our butts in crib again! We are pleased to have had this time with her. On August 21st, her health took a turn for the worse and she passed away peacefully on the morning of August 23rd. On the morning she passed, four of us were playing a game of crib at her bedside. We had just started a new game, which we dedicated to her. At the end of our second or third hand, we realized we were in silence and when we looked over at her, we knew she was gone. Although we are very sad, we know that she is at peace at last and no longer in pain. We loved you dearly Granny. You will surely be missed. A memorial gathering was held on Thursday, September 8th, 2016 at 2:00 pm from the Olds & District Evergreen Centre, 5237-52nd Street in Olds, Alberta. Everyone is welcome. If friends so desire, donations in Mary Anne's memory may be made to the SW Saskatchewan Oldtimers' Museum & Archive - P.O. Box 1540 Maple Creek, Saskatchewan S0N 1N0 as expression of sympathy.