Aubrey Lee Dixon, a native of Pensacola, was born January 30, 1940, and died February 28, 2019. He was predeceased by his mother and father, Aubrey Lee Dixon, Sr., and Mary Louise Barnes Dixon, his stepfather Carlos Griswold, and his brother Edward.

He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Betty, his son David and his wife Caroline, his twin grandchildren, Henry and Layla Grace Dixon, and by his sister Dorothy Flanders. He is survived too by nephews and nieces and great-nephews and nieces in his family and by many brothers- and sisters-in-law and nieces, nephews and great- nieces and nephews in Betty's family, all of whom he embraced wholeheartedly.

He attended local schools and the Florida State Fire College, an ancillary extension of Florida State University, and took courses through the International Fire College in Colorado. He taught as an adjunct instructor in Fire Science at Pensacola Junior (State) College.

His lifelong concern and desire was to help people, and he joined the Pensacola Fire Department as a fireman for that reason. Through his hard work and giftedness in leadership and administration, he rose through the ranks to become Chief in 1987.

As Chief, he immediately began developing a long-term plan for safety services for the City, a primary component of which was his emphasis on training and prevention. Many elements of that plan have been put into place, including relocation of the Number One Fire Station, since he retired with a fire-related disability in 1990. Under his leadership the Department achieved a Number One Fire Rating from Insurance Services Offices (ISO), the accountability body for all fire services in the nation, one of only three in the nation to receive such a rating. He believed the fire service was a calling, and he dedicated himself to insuring the care and protection of life.

He also had a strong vibrant faith in God and was an active member of the Community of Christ, serving as Deacon, Chairman of the Building Committee when the latest addition was made, as Presiding Elder of the North Pensacola Congregation, and in his later years as an Evangelist, demonstrating his faith through his relationships although limited physically. His mantra was the two great commandments: love God and love all others. The fruit of that mantra was demonstrated throughout his life and particularly toward the end when he and our family received a groundswell of support and tenderness.

Betty and David and later Caroline, Henry, and Layla Grace, as well as his entire family, have been recipients of his passionate love and devotion throughout their relationships, and each attests to his living out 1 Corinthians 13.

The family wishes to thank all those who attended him in the Progressive Care Unit at Sacred Heart Hospital and at Covenant Hospice at Sacred Heart.

A memorial service will be held Wednesday, March 6, at the North Pensacola Community of Christ, 3190 Olive Road, at 3:00 pm.

If you wish to make a contribution, in lieu of flowers the family requests a donation to Outreach International, 112 W. 18 ^th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108, an organization dedicated to helping people help themselves. Lee and Betty became charter members when it was founded in 1979.