Arthur Dixon with his future wife Jo in 1946. Photo / Supplied
Arthur Dixon with his future wife Jo in 1946. Photo / Supplied
Arthur Charles Dixon -- October 12, 1925 – April 9, 2018
"It must have been love at second sight."
Arthur Dixon always had a witty way with words and, when describing his own good old-fashioned love story, it was no different.
In fact, Arthur, right up until the end, wasknown to write funny, rhyming poems for his family and close friends.
The poems would arrive on cards at birthdays and special occasions and would always be signed "Art the Bard". He wrote about a dozen or more each year.
Arthur was born in Wellington on October 12, 1925 to William George Dixon and Jesse Elizabeth Garrard.
He was the third of four children and grew up with his older sisters Winnie and Olive and his younger brother Colin.
Arthur Charles Dixon as a very young boy (front) with his two sisters and a cousin, his father William Dixon (back left) and grandfather Charles Dixon (back right). Photo / Supplied
Arthur was always a keen athlete. Sport – especially rugby, cricket, golf and horse racing – was a lifelong passion.
It almost cost him his soulmate. Larry said his dad wrote that particular story down and sent it to him shortly after his mum's death.
Arthur was 18 when he met Jocelyn (Jo) Ward.
It was at a Saturday night dance in Lower Hutt. She was 17.
Their courtship only lasted 18 months before ending abruptly.
Arthur had stayed at an after-match function in Wellington on a Saturday night with some of his rugby mates and was an hour and 15 minutes late to pick up Jo.
They were planning to do what they usually did – go to a Saturday night dance.
But when Arthur arrived at Jo's, he was told by her oldest brother that she had gone to the movies with her sisters "and that she wasn't going to be stood up by someone who thought more about rugby than he did about her".
One of his granddaughters wrote on Facebook this week: "Totally heartbroken at losing such a wonderful Grandad this morning, but I'm so grateful I got him for 37 years and that I got to give him a cuddle a few weeks ago. He was such a witty, independent, funny, no fuss man."
In his later years, Arthur was determined to live life fully right to the end.
He survived surgery for a melanoma on his temple in his 60s and a triple heart bypass in his 70s. He had a pacemaker inserted in his 80s.
"But he never saw these things as something to moan about," Larry said.
"A doctor asked him in his 80s if he wanted them to revive him should he suffer a heart attack. His response: 'Hell yes, I'm not ready to die!'"
As for Arthur's good old-fashioned love story, he and Jo were married for 53 years.
The back of your purse this [$50] note can hide Until you buy what you decide I thought it best this way you see Otherwise, it could have ended in the TAB.
