Dixie Dimple Runnels passed away peacefully Nov. 21 at the home of her son and daughter-in-law, who were by her side.

Dixie was born April 26, 1920, to William Henry Johnson and Nellie B. Josephine Roberts Johnson in Uniform, Ala. She was the 11th of 12 children.

Dixie graduated from Poplarville, Miss. Junior High in 1938, and then came out to Burns to visit her sister, Margie Freeman. She remained in Burns and graduated from Burns Union High School in 1940. She accepted Jesus Christ as her savior that same year.

Shortly after, she met a young Southern man who was to become her lifelong love. They had lived within 30 miles of each other down south.

That man was Arthur Lavon Runnels, known as Dugan, Dick and Bill. When he was introduced to Dixie, she thought they called him Dick, so that is what she called him from then on.

He joined the Navy right after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and they were married in 1943 in Memphis, Tenn., where he was stationed at the time. While he was gone, she stayed down south and worked as a telegraph operator for Missouri Pacific Railroad. She also worked for the phone company in Burns for 15 years, and Burns and Hines TV for five years.

When the war was over, they came back to Burns for the remainder of their lives. She dedicated her life to serve the Lord in the first Baptist Church in Burns and was a lifelong member. Her passion was her love for the older people and it was her joy to cook and care for them, inviting them to dinner or taking them wherever they needed to go.

She taught Sunday School, and was church clerk for many years. She and Dick were also junior youth leaders and served the Lord any way they could.

Dixie and Dick had a very precious relationship with their family and cherished the many times they had with them, including a  cruise to Alaska for their 60th wedding anniversary, a trip to Yellowstone, many trips to the Oregon coast, and a lot more with the whole family.

In her later years, she could not do for them as she always had done and finally let her daughter-in-law and granddaughters take over.

Dixie and Dick had four children.

Dixie is survived by her son, Richard (Dawna) of Nyssa; and son-in-law, Dick Cyphers of Burns; grandchildren, Toby Runnels (Toni), Nichole Kellogg (Pat), both of Nampa, Idaho, Stephanie Ostrom (Andy), Christopher Selid of Portland, and Peter Cyphers of Burns; stepgrandchildren, Ryan Cyphers and Mandy; great-grandchildren, Mason, Brendan, Shayne, Sawyer, Bristol, Owen, and Evan; and a great many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Dick, in 2007; son Stephen, in 1970; and daughters, Marcy, in 1991, and Margy, in 2014.

She was truly a godly woman and will be greatly missed by all who knew her. She was a “hugger” and if you were around her very long, chances were you were going to get hugged at some point.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at Faith Baptist Church in Hines. Contributions in Dixie’s memory may be made to the Harney County Senior and Community Services Center or to Faith Baptist Church.