Opal C. Dixon, age 83, of Norfolk, Va., died on Nov. 14, 2014.

She was born in Haywood Co., N.C., to Henry Frank and Ida Ethel McElroy. She married Earl Dixon Jr. on May 7, 1949. She left the mountains of North Carolina, moved to Norfolk, and started her life as a Navy wife and raised three children. Besides her parents, she was predeceased by her husband, Earl; brothers, Roger, Reid, Bill, Paul, and Frank McElroy.

She is survived by her children, Roy L. Dixon (Joan), William Frank Dixon (Yvonne), and Susan E. Rilee (Paul); grandchildren, Angela Eastman, Michelle Morgan, Loni Ashely, Eric, Erica, and Jonny Dixon, as well as three great-grandchildren. She is also survived by two brothers, Graham B. McElroy, J.C. McElroy, and a number of nieces and nephews. 

The family received friends at a visitation on Sunday from 2-3 p.m. at the Norfolk Chapel of H. D. Oliver Funeral Apts., 1501 Colonial Ave., Norfolk. A funeral service was conducted at 2 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 17, 2014, in the funeral home chapel. Burial will be at a later date in Arlington National Cemetery where her beloved husband was buried in 1998. 

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Strelitz Diabetes Institute Foundation, 855 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510 or the Alzheimer’s Association.

Online condolences may be offered to the family through www.hdoliver.com.