William "W.A" Adolphus Dillon

W.A. Dillon, a longtime Mesquite, Texas, resident went peacefully to meet our Lord on August 6 , 2021 at the age of 89.

William Adolphus “W.A.” Dillon was born in Hendrix, Texas, to Iva and William “Cecil” Dillon on August 11, 1931. He graduated from Caddo Mills High School in 1948. W.A. was drafted into the United States Army and served in Korea where he received numerous awards and decorations to include a Bronze Star Medal.

Upon return from Korea, W.A. worked for the Cotton Belt Rail Road as a fire engineer before moving to Dallas, Texas. In Dallas, W.A. was employed in the insurance industry and then served as laboratory test manager at Texas Instruments. While working in Dallas, W.A. met and married Gwendolyn “Gwen” Dillon. They married on October 12, 1957, moved to Mesquite, Texas and bought a home in 1959. They then had 2 dearly loved children, Jennifer, a teacher in Germany, and Jeff, a Mesquite firefighter/paramedic.

W.A. sought out St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Mesquite where the family made lifelong friends and served the Lord and their community. W.A. was a long- term usher in the church, a role he truly cherished. W.A. was a youth soccer coach in the Mesquite Soccer Association. He led two teams, the Jets and the Impalas, to the city championships in 1976 and 1984, respectively. After 27 years of service to Texas Instruments, W.A. wanted to continue to give back to his community and became a bus driver for special needs children for the Mesquite Independent School District for 13 years.

W.A. was a quiet, kind, and caring man. He kept up with current events by reading the news paper daily. He enjoyed discussing politics and the importance of voting with his family. He kept engaged with local municipal, state and national government issues. He also loved sporting events and music. W.A.’s green thumb was demonstrated by his successful pecan orchard. He enjoyed making homemade candy and sharing his famous “peanut patties”.

He was a very gracious man and he and Gwen opened their doors to relatives and friends to help them start their own lives in the Dallas area. W.A. provided neighbors with transportation to work from Mesquite to Dallas for many years. W.A. was very concerned about recycling in Mesquite and ensure that friends and family were aware of the opportunity to help the environment. He also donated to numerous charities.

W.A. will be deeply missed by his friends, family and all who knew him.

W.A. will be laid to rest with military honors because of his honorable and faithful service in the United States Army at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery on August 10, 2021, at 10am.

W.A. is survived by his loving and faithful wife of 64 years, Gwen Dillon; his son, Jeff Dillon and his daughter, Jennifer Buxkemper, her husband, Alan, their sons, Andrew and Peter, and his favorite Command Sergeant Major, CSM Michelle Thompson. W.A. was proceeded in death by his parents, Iva and William “Cecil” Dillon and his brother, Morris Dillon.

The family wishes to extend sincere appreciation to all employees of Sophia’s House and Trinity Hospice for their excellent care of W.A. Dillon and his family during his final days.

In Lieu of flowers please made donation in W.A's honor to St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Mesquite, Texas or The North Texas Food Bank.