R. Dixie L. Root

SWANTON – R. Dixie Root, age 91, passed away peacefully on Sunday, November 8, 2020 at the Holiday House Residential Care Home with her family by her side.

She was born in Plattsburgh, New York on December 28, 1928 to the late George & Ruth Downey.

Dixie and Donald got married on April 27, 1957. She traveled a lot and loved to explore different cultures. Dixie worked for the United States Customs and Immigration and enjoyed her position in the office. Dixie was an active member of the Swanton Chapter #11 Order of the Eastern Star, an organization that meant a great deal to her. She and her husband Donald were both long-time parishioners at the Memorial United Methodist Church, the Little White Church in West Swanton. Dixie loved her home on Lake Champlain. Sunsets and her apple tree will be a constant reminder to her family of her valued time there. Dixie was always very active, she stayed busy with the grandchildren and great grandchildren playing outside at the lake. She water skied until she was 65! She also loved to snowshoe and take road trips to Maine in the RV with the family. She even took flying lessons, determined to cross “flying an airplane” off her Bucket List. Later in life, Dixie looked forward to her Sunday rides with Sherry, and pit stops at the Pine Cone for lunch.

She is survived by her children, Sharon Holbrook of Swanton, and Raymond and his wife Ann Hakey of Yuma, AZ; 14 grandchildren; 14 great grandchildren; siblings, Daniel and his wife Nancy Lavigne, Richard Lavigne, Stephen Lavigne, and Barbara and her husband Richard Fearn; daughter-in-law, Shirley Hakey; and several nieces, nephews and friends. Besides her parents, Dixie was predeceased by her husband Donald Root in 2003; sons, Mitch Hakey and Terry Hakey; granddaughter, Gina Hakey Pilbin; brother, Stephen Lavigne; sister, Georgeann Jacobs and her husband Richard; and a son-in-law, David Holbrook.

Friends and family are invited to Dixie's Life Celebration to include a graveside service on Friday, May 28, 2021 at 2:00 PM in the Riverside Cemetery, North River St., Swanton, VT.

For those who wish, contributions in Dixie’s memory may be made to the University of Vermont Cancer Center, The Courtyard at Given, 4th Floor North, 89 Beaumont Ave., Burlington, VT 05405.

Goss Life Celebration Homes is the area’s exclusive provider of Life Celebration events. Please visit our website to share condolences, photos and favorite memories at www.gossfs.com