January 12, 1933 – November 14, 2022
Dixie Della Trapp was born in a log cabin in Campbell County, KY January 12, 1933. The cabin in which she was born had a frame farmhouse built around it. Her first 18 years of life were spent on the farm, waking up at 5:00 a.m. to milk dairy cows, go to school, and at the end of the day, milk the cows again. Dixie always said that she did not like the physical aspects of farm life, and on her 18th birthday, she moved to the YWCA in New Port, Kentucky to begin working across the river in Cincinnati, Ohio.
There, she began work at a radio station in Cincinnati, and at a Bank on 5th Avenue near Crosely Field. In the fall of 1951, she enrolled at Eastern Kentucky University where she graduated with honors with a bachelor’s degree in Education and Home Extension. Her first few years of working after college were in Floyd and Rowen Counties in Eastern Kentucky where she served as the Home Extension agent for those counties. During this time, Dixie walked over many a railroad and suspension bridge which spanned over creeks and hollers in the most rural areas of Eastern Kentucky, where numerous families lived. Her job was to provide education and the latest technologies on home extension and economics.
She met John Higgins on a blind date at Eastern KY, who happened to live in the Magoffin County area. They began dating and were married on August 17, 1957. They had four children, three of whom survived. Dixie is survived by her children: John Fred Higgins (Carolyn), grandson John Ethan Higgins, Susanne Marie church (Greg Lay), and Timothy Alan Higgins (Nancy), grandchildren Bradley and Michelle Higgins.
Their early years of marriage were first as teachers in Adams County, Ohio, in a small town called West Union. From there, they went to Bloomington where Dixie worked on her advanced degree in Education. From there, the family moved to Chadron Nebraska to work at Chadron State College – a teacher’s college – from 1964 to 1967. They then moved to Florida where they taught at St. Leo University from 1968 to 1998.
Dixie was also an expert seamstress and quilter. As a young child, she learned to sew and make dresses, blouses, and shirts from the floral material from flour sacks for herself and her sisters.
Dixie and John enjoyed traveling throughout their lifetime. They travelled wherever their children were stationed or lived.
Dixie was always a strong advocate for children, their safety, health, and education, whether it be through inoculations or ensuring that they were properly fed and clothed.
She advanced and was an advocate for the expansion of the library system in Eastern Pasco County, FL and worked tirelessly to expand the elementary reading section, so children had a safe place to read and learn.
She was a proponent for equal pay and equal rights. She learned this in part from her mother who was an advocate for the women’s suffrage movement in the early 1900s. She was always a champion for the underprivileged, underserved, and for immigrants and fought tirelessly to help those who were not given equal footing.
It can be said that she lived her life as fully and completely as possible right up to the end.
For those wishing to make contributions in memory of Dixie, please consider Friends of Hugh Embry Library, 34043 State Road 54, Wesley Chapel, FL 33543. Memorial services will be held at a later date.
Published 01/11/23
