Esther DEWITT NIXON

Esther
Nov 24, 1916 - Apr 15, 2004 (SSDI)

Walter
Dec 20, 1916 - Apr 20, 1993

*Obituary (Esther)
ESTHER DeWITT NIXON, age 87, a person beloved by many in Jacksonville and central Arkansas, died on April 15, 2004, in Jacksonville. For 27 years she was the founding librarian of the Jacksonville library, named in her honor in 1992. She was the youngest of seven children of Marcus Henry DeWitt (born on April 7, 1877) and Allie Ellis DeWitt (born on Jan. 18, 1880).

Her twin, Ruth DeWitt Cox, who predeceased her in 1983, was her soul-mate, though very different in temperament, talent, and appearance. They grew up together in Corsicana, Texas. She was preceded in death by her husband of 50 years, Watson Nixon Jr., and by her other sisters and brothers, Ellis, Bob, Frances, Jack, and Mary.

Esther is survived by her two sons, Graham DeWitt Nixon of Jacksonville and Walter Watson Nixon III, his wife Dana Daniels Nixon, and their daughter, Abigail DeWitt Nixon of Jacksonville and Little Rock. Her husband's sister, Mary Anne Nixon of Jacksonville, also survives.

Although Esther still wrote many letters, in recent years she established and maintained a lively e-mail correspondence with many of her nieces and nephews around the country: Frances Louise Ehrig, Kathleen Winterbotham, Mickey Cox, Anne Payne, Mary Valle, Tony Cox, John DeWitt, Elizabeth DeWitt, Jan Spann, Cheryl Weldon, Roy Murtishaw, Don Murtishaw, Gayle Neunherz, Debbie O'Bar, and Stephen DeLaney.

Esther was a lifelong Presbyterian and was an active and faithful member of the First Presbyterian Church of Jacksonville from the time she and Watson moved to his hometown in 1950. In recent years she was the founder and an avid member of Circle No. 4 and was instrumental in the creation of a children's library at the church. All her life she loved to read and to engage people in discussing literature and poetry. Through her use of the bookmobile that was Jacksonville's gateway to learning during the 1950s, she became a fast friend of the Pulaski County librarian, Miss Mary Sue Shepherd. It was thus natural that Esther was asked to serve as the first librarian when Jacksonville opened a small library in the City Hall in 1959. She continued to serve the library long after her retirement in 1986, and after her beauty appointment on Tuesday morning was on her way to serve as the regular leader of the Book Chats when she became ill. During the past year she had become a regular at the Jacksonville Community Center swimming class and despite a spell of illness last fall had recently resumed swimming with her "pool pals" three times a week.

A person with an unquenchable thirst for learning and an interest in the here-and-now, Esther took a computer course at the age of 80. As soon as she learned to use the Internet in the year 2000, Esther began writing her memoirs. Her stories captured her incomparable memory of her childhood in Texas with her twin and her brothers and sisters. The fondest memory of her only grandchild, Abigail, is of the "stories" she told as they nestled into bed over the years they got to enjoy together as grandmother and grandchild.

Movies were one of her most enjoyed pastimes, beginning when she was a child in the silent films days of Rudolph Valentino and Clara Bow in the 1920s and continuing through her recent enjoyment "The Lord of the Rings". In later years she saw more movies than her two sons, and was constantly in touch with what was going on in books, television, and politics. She loved words and language and completed the newspaper crossword puzzle every day. In the last few decades she took up china painting and showed great talent in capturing faces and delighting recipients with her gifts of cups, saucers and plates decorated with fruits and flowers.

Esther was one of the great conversationalists and appreciators of people; she could connect with the smartest or humblest person and always found something to like. She was a mentor and a great teacher. She would say she wasn't good at giving orders, but she would tell you what needed to be done. Her sense of humor was rich and her laughter contagious. She had an immense number of friends who join her family in mourning the great loss of a kind, sweet, loving lady.

Visitation by friends and family will be held in her honor from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 18, 2004, at Jacksonville Funeral Home, 1504 J.P. Wright Loop Road in Jacksonville. To sign the online guestbook, go to www.mooresjacksonvillefuneralhome.com.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, April 19, 2004, at First Presbyterian Church, 1208 West Main, Jacksonville, with Rev. Dr. David Dyer officiating. Honorary pallbearers are the devoted cousins of her husband: Coy Nixon Jr. and Robert Nixon of Pine Bluff, Lin Nixon of Little Rock, and Allen Nixon of Jonesboro and long-time friends John McNee of Jacksonville and Cole Daniels of Little Rock. Pallbearers are Mike Wilson and Larry Wilson of Jacksonville; Roy Murtishaw and Don Murtishaw of Pine Bluff; and John Vanderhoof and Ralph Roark of Jacksonville. Graveside services will follow at Bayou Meto Cemetery. After the services the family will receive friends and family at Nixon Flower Farm, 1412 Graham Road, Jacksonville. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Esther DeWitt Nixon Library in Jacksonville.

Contributed on 5/16/13 by hawkinsdonna48
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Record #: 879683

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