Bio: Dix, Rev. Kenneth (1940 - 2014)

Contact: Robert Lipprandt
bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Beastrom, Dix, Feiten, Nyberg, O’Brien, Pence, Schmidt, Untiedt, Vorland

----Source: The Tribune - Phonograph (Abbotsford, WI) 8/13/2014

People use the word “instrumental” a lot when they talk about Ken Dix.

The longtime minister and community leader died suddenly last Wednesday at this home in Lake Holcombe, but the legacy of his accomplishments will be around for many years to come.

While serving two different churches in Colby and Athens for over 40 years, he also got involved n everything from economic development and low income housing to historical preservation.

In the city of Colby, he served 20 years in elected office, including eight years as mayor during a busy period of municipal development.

Colby Mayor Jim Schmidt, who was on the city council during Dix’s tenure as mayor, said he was “very shocked” to hear about his predecessors’ death. “As active as he was, he took care of himself,” Schmidt said, “it’s going to be quite a loss for everybody. He touched many people’s lives.”

Schmidt knew Dix since 1965, when the pastor first came to Christ United Church in Athens where Schmidt grew up. Their lives were also connected through their service to the Colby Fire and EMS Department. Dix was one of the five original volunteer EMT’s for the city of Colby, Schmidt, noted.

During Dix’s time a mayor, he helped get a community development block grant to build the city’s fire station, Schmidt said. The station was constructed in 1988on Broadway Avenue, allowing the city‘s fire and EMT serviced to move out to city hall. Just three years later, Dix worked with the council to remodel city hall and put on two new additions. These additions now house the expanded Colby Public Library and the city clerk’s office.

“He was always thinking ahead about improvements to the community, to make it a better place to live,” Schmidt said.

Born and raised n Stratford, Dix attended Lakeland College in Sheboygan and then United Seminary in the Twin Cities. He ministered in Indiana and North Dakota before returning to central Wisconsin in 1965. “I felt at home; I knew I belonged,” he told the Tribune-Phonograph in 2009 shortly before retiring. “I saw things that needed to be done here as opportunities.”

Dix never stopped moving, Schmidt said, and filled every last minute with service to his parish and community. “He always started his day early,” Schmidt Said. “He was up at five or six every morning.”

Dix was one of the founding members of the Rural Arts Museum in Colby, along with Pearl Vorland, who passed away earlier this year at the age of 100.

Pat Untied, president of the museum, said the passing of both Dix and Vorland is a big loss for the group. Like many people who knew Dix. Untiedt considered him an invaluable source of information about the area and its history. “He had a very good memory,” she said. “If you wanted to know anything about anybody, you could ask Ken. He knew it.”

Untiedt said Dix always made himself available when people needed him the most. “He was a great help to me when I was sick last year,” she said. “I’m not of his faith, but he came to our house. That’s how he did things.”

Diane Feiten, a former Colby city council member, worded with Dix in both city government and in her role as secretary of the Clark County Economic Development Corporation (CCEDC). “We’re really going to miss him,” Feiten said. “He knew everything that was going on. If you needed to know something, he was your first call.”

Sheila Nyberg, executive director of the CCEDC, said Dix and Feinten were founding members of the corporation, along with Don Pence of Greenwood. She said Dix was the one who called her to offer her the job at CCEDC, and he will always have “a warm spot in my heart” as a trusted confidant.

“He was a real leader in our organization and saw the future of what needed to happen for economic development,” she said. Nyberg said Dix had a natural talent for uniting people and visualizing what needed to be done to accomplish goals. She said he CCEDC will truly miss his insight as they continue working on developing the area. “He was forward-thinking about what was possible,” she said.

Dix also made a big impact in Marathon County as a member of the Marathon County Housing Association, which has constructed and maintained sever housing units in rural communities for elderly and low income residents. Since it was started in the 1970’s, the association has built housing units in Athens, Stratford, Edgar, Spencer and Mosinee, among other communities.

Gary Beastrom of Athens said he first met Dix when he moved to the village in 1966 and joined Christ United Church. Over the next 50 years, Beastrom said Dix was there for every major life event in his family, from the baptisms and confirmations of their children to their weddings as adults.

Beastrom said Dix helped numerous couples through rough spots in their marriages, comforted families coping with tragic losses and also spearheaded the construction of a new church right along the highway in Athens. “He did it all,” he said.

For Dix, the line between small-town pastor and community leader was virtually non-existent. “To me church and community are intertwined with people,” he said in 2009. “You don’t look at time; you look at people and that makes the difference.”

And like many lifelong volunteers, Dix did not seek special attention for his work. When he retired in 2009, he didn’t ask for a big celebration in his honor. “It’s not necessary that we have anything official,” he said in 2009. “I’m not going to make a big issue about saying goodbye.”

Note: Obituary of Rev. Kenneth Dix: http://www.wiclarkcountyhistory.org/5data/115/115634.htm