Mary Elizabeth Dixon

Mary Elizabeth (Ritenour) Dixon of Upper Arlington, 70, passed away peacefully on October 19 after a brief battle with cancer, surrounded by her three children. She was born in Youngstown, Ohio on July 22, 1953, the third of four beloved sisters. She graduated from Ursuline High School in 1971 and received her teaching degree from Youngstown State University in 1975.

She met the love of her life, Dr. Gerald F. Dixon, in college and they were married for 17 wonderful years before his untimely death in 1995. Their three children were their greatest gifts. As a single parent, Mary Beth instilled deep values that kept their father’s spirit alive, including faith, perseverance, hard work, and family. She is most proud of Luke, a dedicated lawyer and father; Meredith, a neonatologist; and Maria, a loving mother.

Mary Beth began her career in teaching special education in Hubbard Public Schools. After raising her children, she returned to teaching and found a renewed sense of purpose. She spent many years as an interventional specialist at Barrington Elementary in Upper Arlington. Her students and their families adored her and this gave her immense fulfillment and gratitude.

Mary Beth always sought ways to help and serve others, especially children. She was an active member of Pleasure Guild and The Childhood League Center, where she and Jerry made great memories in charity events, such as Merry Go Round. More recently, she was involved with Run the Race, an organization she was hoping to serve for many years.

One of Mary Beth’s principles of living is that “you can never have too many friends”. She had many, many dear friends, including a treasured friendship with Beth Sprague. After her children moved outside of Ohio, she cherished these friendships. Her weekly schedule included a round-up of various book clubs, bridge and canasta groups. She was known for her lively and fun personality and incredible fashion sense.

Despite losing her husband at such a young age, she held a deep Catholic faith. She was a parishioner at several parishes in Columbus, most recently Our Lady of Victory. A solace to her family is that she is now reunited with her beloved husband.

Mary Beth leaves behind Luke (Michelle), Meredith and Maria (Christopher); and her six adoring grandchildren, Jack, James, Charlotte, Mark, Andrew and Timothy; cherished sisters and their families, Suzanne (Tom), Carol (Paul) and Peg (Frank); brothers-in-law, Frank (Kim) Dixon and Joe (Vicky) Italiano; sister-in-law Kathleen (Chuck) Folkwein; many nieces and nephews; and a million friends.

She is predeceased by her late husband, Jerry Dixon; her parents, John and Marie Ritenour; her husband’s parents, Frank and Mary Dixon; her sisters-in-law, Elaine Italiano and Kim Dixon.

The family would like to thank Mary Beth’s friends who showered her with love and support in her final weeks. Every card and text made her smile.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Childhood League Center (https://childhoodleague.org) or The Brian Muha Foundation (https://www.brianmuhafoundation.org/). The visitation will be Wednesday, October 25 at Schoedinger Northwest (1740 Zollinger Road) from 4:00-7:00pm. The funeral Mass will be on Thursday, October 26 at 10:00am at St. Michael’s Church in Worthington.