Dixie Lee Ewing

Dixie Ewing, 77, of Woodbury, MN passed away on February 9, 2023. She was a wonderful mother, sister, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt, and friend. She will be dearly missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing her.

Dixie was born in St. Louis, MO to Elbert Verner (E.V.) Richardson and Martha Jo (Moyer) Richardson on August 24, 1945. To Dixie’s older sister Constance, Dixie was her little China doll. Growing up, Dixie was loved, pampered, and protected by her parents and sister. While they traveled to France and Italy, she was far from “worldly”. She carried with her a sweetness and innocence well into her adult life. Dixie received her humor and charm from her father, but her strength, manners and how to throw formal parties came from her mother.

Dixie had two sons with her first husband, Tom Hrastich – Jeff and Tommy. The family became blended in 1975, when Dixie remarried. With the marriage to Tom Ewing, the family grew with the addition of Tom Jr., Jeannette, Roxane, and Darrin.

Dixie was the quintessential housewife of her time. She was very active volunteering in neighborhood and church groups, including neighborhood welcome committees, PTA, den mother for Cub Scouts, etc. For a time, she was a church secretary in St. Louis.

While she was actively engaged in volunteering, building relationships, and trying to make the community better, she didn’t blossom into the powerhouse we know today until she had to expand her responsibilities to include bread winner. When Tom Ewing had a stroke and lost his job, Dixie needed to quickly find a career. She connected with Ruth Kohlhaas, who owned a small realty company in Woodbury. She studied hard and passed her realtor test in 1978.

She thrived. Not only was she able to feed the family, but she developed relationships that improved her ability to support and champion causes. She held numerous leadership positions in the Children’s Hospital Association Woodbury Guild, Southeast Area YMCA, Woodbury United Methodist Church, Woodbury Yellow Ribbon Network, and the Woodbury Chamber of Commerce. Arguably her most impactful philanthropic legacy is tied to being one of the founding members of the Friends of Woodbury in 2003, which grew into the Woodbury Community Foundation. Dixie faithfully served the Foundation for nearly 20 years in numerous leadership roles. She accomplished all of this while building an incredibly successful real estate career that spanned almost 45 years.

Foundationally, the reason for her success is tied to two key traits: 1) Gratitude – she was thankful for her family and friends, she was always grateful for the things people did for her or her community, she was truly thankful for the life she lived, and she was never shy about expressing that gratitude. 2) Love – she loved…period! She loved her family (fiercely), she loved her community, she loved her work as a Realtor for Edina Realty, she loved helping others, and most importantly, she loved God. And she shared ALL that love unabashedly. Each of us who was fortunate enough to experience Dixie’s love knows that her love will continue to be felt in our hearts.

Dixie was preceded in death by her loving husband of 46 years, Tom Ewing, as well as her parents, E.V. and Martha Jo Richardson. Dixie is survived by her sister Constance (Wayne) Redeker; children, Jeff (Diane) Hrastich, Tom (Renae) Hrastich, Thomas Ewing Jr., Jeannette (Peter) Douglas, Roxane (Mike) Nelson, Darrin (Susan) Ewing; thirteen grandchildren; sixteen great grandchildren; and many other relatives and friends.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, February 24, 2023, at King of Kings Lutheran Church, 1583 Radio Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125. Visitation will be from 10:00-11:00am, followed by the funeral service at 11:00am.

In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to the Woodbury Community Foundation or to the donor’s preferred charitable organization.