September 27, 1931 – January 31, 2025

Bob Dixon, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family.

Bob was born in Butte, MT, the youngest of three children. From an early age he worked in his father’s grocery store. After high school, he enlisted in the Navy and worked as a radio technician. One of his favorite stories was eating soba noodles from street vendors while stationed in Japan. As a red-headed American sailor, he was quite a celebrity!

After the Navy, he earned a degree in Industrial Engineering from Montana State University. He then set his sights on Seattle and began a career at The Boeing Company in engineering and finance.

Bob met his wife, Marlyce, and began a family. Their first home was in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. Life was busy with four boys and all their activities, and Bob also liked to be busy with hobbies and volunteer opportunities. He bought a fixer beach house on Vashon Island, started Capitol Hill Soccer Club, and restored a 30 ft sailboat. Bob’s next project was buying a cherry orchard on Flathead Lake in Montana, where Family vacations were spent, pruning trees, picking cherries, and remodeling a farmhouse.

Bob’s Boeing career took him and his family to Oak Ridge, TN and back to Renton, WA. After three decades at Boeing, he retired, but did not slow down: Bob turned his focus on building houses.

He built a passive solar energy family home in Maple Valley, bought land and built a spec-house on Vashon Island. While living in the Maple Valley house, he grew a large vegetable garden,raised animals & bees. He volunteered at church, the county solid waste board, and the local arboretum.

After the boys were “launched,” Bob and Marlyce moved to their beach house on Vashon Island. Bob found joy and contentment as part of the Vashon community, fulfilling his passion for helping others. He participated in many civic pursuits including the local fruit club, the Methodist Church, and renovating the light house caretakers’ residences at Pt. Robinson State Park.

He continued his many hobbies including pottery, woodworking, and especially gardening, remaining active to the end. Being a lifelong learner, kept him young. He made life better for all who knew him — truly a life well lived!

Bob is survived by Marlyce, his wife of over 60 years, and their four sons, Jim and his wife Allison, Jeff, Joe and his wife Judy, and John, along with their four wonderful grandchildren. Bob’s diverse interests and willingness to challenge himself enriched the family.

Private military services will be held at Tahoma National Cemetery.

An open celebration to honor Bob’s life will be held on Vashon Island on June 14th, at the Vashon United Methodist Church.

vashonmethodist.org