Eleanor "Elly" Marie Dixon

Eleanor “Elly” Marie Dixon (née Turnack) of Valley Cottage, NY, 87 years old, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her four boys, their wives, grand and great-grand children and her friend and aide, Andrea, on December 27, 2024.

Born on September 25, 1937, she grew up on Jerome Avenue in the Bronx and worked for the New York Telephone Company. It was in the Bronx where she met her future husband, Jim, on a blind date on New Year’s Eve in 1955. They married in 1957 on his return from the Army. The couple, and their young family, moved to Rockland County in 1965. She was a devoted wife for 65 years until Jim’s passing in 2021.

Family was everything to Elly. This included her extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Her family and friends will always remember celebrations around the table at her house, especially Christmas. Christmas was such a special time for her. It’s fitting that God waited to call her home until after the holiday. She had a great wit and the lilt of her laugh made every day with her special.

She was a devout Catholic and parishioner of St. Paul’s in Congers, NY and St. Anthony’s in Nanuet, NY.

The legacy of her family lives on through sons: Jim (Cathy), Michael (Mary), Richard (Lisa), and Danny (Kim). She is also survived by her eight grandchildren – Meagan (Steve), Jimmy (Katie), Steven (Anya), Lisa (fiancé Nathan), Richard-John (fiancée Camryn), Cassandra, Colleen (Chris), and Nina and four great grandchildren – Lucas, Olivia, James Arthur, and Nathaniel. In addition to her husband, she was predeceased by her father Michael Turnack and mother Anna (née Abate).

An excerpt from Mom’s diary in 1997, “I am now 60 years old and a grandmother of 8. We have 4 sons and they are all married. Life has been good to me. There have been ups and downs but all has worked out for the best. Jim and I are married 40 years. I leave the future in God’s hands and pray for the best.”

The family will receive friends on Monday, December 30 from 4-8 pm at Higgins Funeral Home in New City, NY. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, December 31, 10 am, at St. Anthony’s Church, followed by interment at St. Anthony’s Cemetery, Nanuet, NY.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Rockland County Meals on Wheels [https://mowrockland.org/donate/] or the St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital (https://www.stjude.org/give/memorials-and-dedications.html).

She was love. She is loved. She will be missed.