Claudia Libia Dixey

October 30, 1922 - February 20, 2019

Claudia Libia Dixey

October 30, 1922 - February 20, 2019

Obituary

Claudia Libia Dixey passed on February 20, 2019 into the next life, where she will be reunited with her great love, James Dixey. Preceded in death by her great granddaughter Megan, she leaves behind four sons (Jim, Alan, Steven and Kevin) and their wives (Brenda, Becky, Maria and Jennifer), seven grandchildren (Erin, Michele, Aimee, Steven, Michael, Sarah and Julian) and five great grandchildren (Brittany, Victoria, Bennett, Quinton and Violet) with a sixth on the way.

From a very young age she rejected being called Claudia and decided she would be known as Libia forever more. It was this independent streak that would define her life, and leave a lasting impression on everyone that knew her. She lived her life the way she wanted and nothing you could say was going to convince her otherwise. This, combined with her bottomless reservoir of charm and a willingness to take on all comers, meant she filled up her ninety-seven years with as much life as it could hold and then some.

She grew up the youngest of twelve in a prominent Panamanian family that was, as she was fond of saying “filled with doctors and lawyers”. She was a tomboy; doted on by her older brothers and sisters, she grew up riding a horse and shooting a rifle. At the age of nineteen, she met a handsome young soldier, James, who would become the love of her life and her constant companion — traveling the world together, and making homes in Panama, Venezuela, and Florida before eventually retiring to the California sunshine.

In her near century of life, Libia Dixey met Pope Pius XII at the Vatican, strolled the Champs-Élysées, climbed a pyramid in the Yucatan with Princess Grace, and spent time with her husband and family everywhere from Damascus to Hong Kong. She was endlessly curious and possessed a desire to know about everything from ancient Rome to UFO’s in the sky.

Libia was a woman of great faith in her family and in God above. As a life-long Catholic, she was devoted to Mary and made several trips to Fatima in service of her faith.

Libia passed in much the same way as she lived. She spent her final hours laughing and flirting with the doctors, telling stories about her life and her sons, and holding the hands of her family. She reminds us all to live our lives just as fully — embrace every moment — in preparation for the adventure that lies ahead.

Libia was cremated on the the last day of February, and her ashes along with those of her beloved James, will be taken to Panama to be laid to rest.

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2 responses to Claudia Libia Dixey

  1. Dear Libby, I have been profoundly touched by your friendship. I can’t tell you how much that I will miss you. Your love for your husband and family was a total inspiration to me since I met you. What a “little” seamstress you were. There will be many times that I will always think of you but I will always see you smiling as you hugged me and told me that you loved me. I will always love you too my special friend. Now it’s time for you to go and be with your husband again so I must say goodbye. You’ve waited long enough.
    I love you

    Bev

  2. Dear Cousins:
    I’ve always held Tia Libia very dear.

    Papa Ramiro always had a soft spot for his little sister Libia.

    Every time she and her family would come to visit us in Panama, he would go out of his way to make sure all their needs were met and that they were comfortable.

    I remember one time they came to Panama and my dad asked me to give them the whole second story of my house so that she and her husband and Jimmy, Brenda and Michelle could be comfortable and stay in the same place together. We then took a trip to Potrerillos Arriba and visited many places in Chiriqui. I greatly enjoyed the company of the Dixies!

    When I moved to California with my husband and 4 kids, we went to San Diego to visit her and we all stayed at her place for a whole weekend. When my son Giulio lived in Seattle and Claudia, my youngest daughter went to visit him they went to see her in Bellingham, where she lived then.

    Every once in a while, we would talk on the phone and we really enjoyed her stories and sense of humor. My husband Julio would joke around with her and ask about her “admirers” at Bellingham. We’d have long phone conversations and would joke and gossip. I enjoyed my aunt, even though we lived far away from each other and I learned to love her very much through all the attentions my dad had for her.

    Today is nice to remember her as she was, with her never-ending sense of humor and cheerfulness, the way she will remain in my memories.

    I’d like to send all her family a warm hug, tia Libia lived a life filled with beautiful moments, and as the obituary says, always in her way.

    Hugs!
    Sandra

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