Lena Mae Catchings Dixon
Lena was born on March 13th, 1928, to Isaiah and Willie Mae Catchings of Georgetown, MS. Lena was the 10th child of 16 children and was raised in a Christian home and taught family values.
Her Family attended Brushy Creek M.B. Church in Georgetown, MS. In 1946, Lena graduated from Lanier High School in Jackson, MS and attended Jackson State University where she received her Bachelor’s Degree Education.
On April 28th, 1947, Lena married her lifetime love, Earl Carver Dixon, Sr. and to their union nine children were born (5 boys and 4 girls). Together, they became prominent people in the community. A few years into their marriage, Earl was called into the ministry and pastored five churches for over 40 years. As a schoolteacher and advocate for higher leaner, for over 20 years, Lena taught at all levels in grade school and even served as an interim principle. She influenced many of her students’ lives in which she continued to embrace over the years. Earl and Lena farmed their own land and own their own grocery store, in Georgetown, MS.
As an active supportive role as the “First Lady”, Lena served as president of the Pastor’s Supporters Committee, which performed house calls, hospital visits, help fund programs to assist members in need, and established support different support groups. She was a member of the Egypt Hill “willing workers” committee and was elected as the Treasurer for the Copiah County Ministerial Alliance Wives Department.
After the death of her husband on June 4th, 1999, Lena thrived to keep the Legacy of husband alive. She established the E. C. Dixon scholarship fund and raised and over the last 20 plus years since his death, it has distributed over hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships to deserving students. Each year, a huge function is held to honor students on behalf of the E. C. Dixon scholarship fund where keynote speakers come to address some encouraging words to the participants and with hopes to leave an impression on them as they start their next journey in life.
Lena received numerous recognition and awards affirming the great impact she had on everyone she met. She received honors from the Governor, the House of Representatives, and the Senators of Mississippi. She was named an honorary Sheriff Deputy of Copiah County for her efforts in the community and March 13th, has been declared “Lena Dixon” day in the city of Hazlehurst, MS by the mayor of that town.
On May 29th, 2021, Lena, surrounded by loved ones, died at Baptist Hospital due to health complications. It is only fitting that it was necessary to begin a scholarship in honor of her legacy because of her passion for education and love for people. In July of 2021, the Lena Dixon Legacy Scholarship fund kicked off its first fundraiser and gave a total of nine scholarships to the graduating class of 2021. 4 recipients from Las Vegas NV, 2 in Jacksonville, FL, and 3 in Hazlehurst, MS. So, in a nutshell, this was Lena Mae Dixon