- Date Of Birth: November 9, 1952
- Date Of Death: April 5, 2016
- State: Maryland
Laurie D. Dixon
Local-area teacher and active church leader
Laurie D. Dixon, a teacher in Baltimore-area Christian schools for 34 years, died April 5 at University of MD Medical Center of complications following a double-lung transplant. She was 63.
The daughter of C. Russell Conklin, owner and president of Power & Combustion, Inc. and Shirley Alt Conklin, a homemaker and community volunteer, Laurie Donzella Conklin was born in Baltimore and raised in Catonsville. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Appalachian State University in 1975 and began her teaching career in 1976 at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Reisterstown. In subsequent years, she taught elementary school and middle-school science at St. Clement Catholic School in Lansdowne, St. Paul Lutheran School in Glen Burnie and St. Paul Lutheran School in Catonsville.
“Laurie always led with her heart,” said her husband of 38 years, Lloyd M. Dixon, a quality engineer at Northrop Grumman. “She had a unique gift of connecting with people and making them feel comfortable – it’s one reason she was such a great teacher.
“Aunt Laurie is the reason I became a science teacher,” said her niece Courtney C. Conklin, a third-year biology teacher in New Hampshire. “When we were with her, we knew we were learning, but we were always having so much fun!”
In 1995, Mrs. Dixon earned a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in Communicative Learning Disorders and focused much of her time afterward on children with learning disabilities. “Laurie was always focused on others – when she talked to you, you were the most important thing. She genuinely cared about you, including how she might help you solve a problem or reach your full potential,” said her brother George C. Conklin of Ellicott City. “She meant so very much to so very many people – her death is a loss that will be felt across the community.” She retired from active teaching in 2010 but continued to tutor neighborhood children for free.
Mrs. Dixon was also an active church leader, serving in numerous leadership roles, including president of the church council at Second English Lutheran Church; Sunday School teacher and First Communion instructor at St. John Lutheran Church in Columbia; Sunday School and Vacation Bible School teacher at First Lutheran Church of Ellicott City; and a group leader for the Bible Study Fellowship International class of Columbia.
In addition to her husband, niece and brother, she is survived by a daughter, Christine C. Stough of Eldersburg, a sister, Sheri N. Conklin of Blacksburg, Va., a sister, Sarah B. St. Jean, also of Blacksburg, two grandchildren, five other nieces and two nephews.
Saturday, April 16, 2016, 10:00 am – 11:30 am
First Lutheran Church
3604 Chatham Rd. Ellicott City MD, 21042
Saturday, April 16, 2016, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
First Lutheran Church
3604 Chatham Rd. Ellicott City MD, 21042
