obituary     editor's note

Iowa Independent Banker's Association announcement
   

ROBERT D. DIXON
SHELDON, IOWA—Robert Donald Dixon, age 86, of Sheldon and formerly of Rolfe, died on November 14, 2005, at the Northwest Iowa Health Center–Senior Care in Sheldon. Most people knew Mr. Dixon as either “Bob” or “R.D.” His services were held on November 18, 2005, at the United Methodist Church in Sheldon with the Rev. Marvin Lindley officiating. Burial was in the East Lawn Cemetery in Sheldon with a military graveside service by the: Sheldon American Legion, Post 145. The Vander Ploeg Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
	Robert Donald Dixon, the son of Robert C. and Bess (Blinkinsop) Dixon, was born December 3, 1918, in Belle Plaine, Iowa. He attended school in Belle Plaine and graduated from Belle Plaine High School in 1935. He also graduated from Belle Plaine Business School and the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Bob started his banking career in Galt, Iowa. He then joined the United States Navy and served during World War II. He was united in marriage to Janet E. Crew on August 12, 1944, in Vinton, Iowa. After his military service, he continued his banking career in Iowa. He worked in Clarion, Stratford, and finally at the Rolfe State Bank from 1951 until 1995, when he and Janet moved to Sheldon. Bob continued as the chairman of the board for both the Rolfe State Bank and the Citizens State Bank of Sheldon–Boyden until the time of his death.
While living in Rolfe, Bob was an active member of the United Methodist Church and the Masonic Lodge. He was a former president and longtime member of the Rolfe Lions Club and a member of the board of directors of the Rolfe Community School District. He was one of the founding members of the Iowa Independent Bankers Association and was currently a director emeritus of that group. He was an avid golfer, and on numerous occasions was the champion of the Rolfe Golf Club and the Pocahontas County Tournament. In Sheldon, he was a member of the United Methodist Church and the Prairie Queen Kiwanis. In 2005, the board of directors of the Iowa Independent Bankers Association voted to change the name of the association’s Founders Award to the Robert D. Dixon Award. The award, presented annually at the IIB convention recognizes community bankers for their participation and devotion to community banking Bob is survived by his wife Janet Dixon of Sheldon; a son and his wife, Robert J. “Rob” and Bonnie Dixon of Sheldon; a daughter Teresa A. Dixon of Edina, Minnesota; two grandchildren and their spouses, Heidi and Craig Nissen and Robert W. and Elizabeth Dixon; two great-grandchildren, Parker and Carter Nissen; three sisters, Alice and her husband, Merlyn Gahring of Vinton, Iowa; Roberta and her husband, Lloyd Saunders of Monmouth, Iowa and Reatha Kluser of Lebanon, Oregon; and other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Gerald in infancy and William Dixon. Editor’s note: Bob and Janet Dixon’s son Rob Dixon is a 1964 graduate of Rolfe High School. He is lives in Sheldon and is the president of the Rolfe State Bank and the Citizens State Bank of Sheldon–Boyden. Their daughter Teresa Dixon is a 1966 graduate of Rolfe High School and lives in Edina, Minnesota. Bob and Janet’s grand-daughter Heidi Dixon Nissen graduated from Rolfe in 1988. She lives in Sheldon and is the vice president of the Citizens State Bank. Their grandson Robbie Dixon attended the Rolfe school until it became part of the Pocahontas Area Community School District in 1990. Robbie graduated from the PAC school in 1993. He lives in Chicago and is an attorney with Vedder, Price, Kaufman, and Kammholz. From the Iowa Independent Bankers Association Banker Robert D. Dixon completed his career as a community banker on November 14, 2005. He was instrumental in the formation of the Iowa Independent Bankers in the early 1970’s and has served as Director Emeritus of IIB since that time. Two additional family generations have maintained his dedication and commitment to community banking through his son, Robert J. Dixon and his granddaughter, Heidi (Dixon) Nissen. In honor of his work and dedication, the Board of Directors of the Iowa Independent Bankers has voted to change the name of the association’s Founders Award to the Robert D. Dixon Award. This award, presented annually at the association’s convention recognizes community bankers for their participation and devotion to community banking. IIB President Keith Lazar, President of Washington State Bank, said, “We are all saddened by the passing of one of Iowa’s most dedicated community bankers and the driving force behind the establishment of IIB. It is only fitting and proper that his legacy be honored long into the future.” “In December of 1971, Robert D. Dixon, then serving as Iowa director of the Independent Bankers Association of America, called together a group of concerned Iowa bankers for the purpose of organizing a state independent bankers’ association. The impetus for a state-level organization was a report by the Bank Holding Companies Study Committee of the Iowa legislature which held hearings in 1971 during the interim between the first and second sessions of the Sixty-fourth General Assembly. That report contained a number of legislative recommendations relating to banking structure that were contrary to the philosophy and interests of independent bankers.”