Fred Lee Dixon: 1936 – 2023
Fred Lee Dixon, 87 of Cheyenne, Wyoming passed away September 17, 2023. He was born on January 24, 1936 in Mancos, Colorado to Fred and Adeline Dixon. He was one of eight siblings. He grew up on a busy working farm and learned to ride and saddle a horse by the age of six. The work was always hard but there was always time for he and his siblings to be mischievous and have lots of fun.
He began his long history of being a hard working man by starting in the oilfields at the age of the age 17. He broke his leg on the job and while recovering from it he met the love of his life, Arlene. They were married on October 16, 1954 in Hereford, Texas. After marriage he worked at a gas station called Short’s 66 in Clovis, New Mexico and then went on to a sales position at JC Penneys in Portales, New Mexico from 1956 to 1963. He was then offered a position with Gibson’s Discount in Cheyenne, WY which he accepted. He and Arlene bravely packed up their four young children and moved to the unknown.
He flourished at Gibson’s as department manager and was later promoted to assistant manager. He and Arlene also opened up two surplus stores under the name of Frances Arlene Surplus and sold any and everything imaginable. During that same time, he also took on the responsibility of leasing and managing the restaurant at Two Bar Bowl for a one year period. His love of building and constructing led him to build his own home here in Cheyenne and he worked with his brother, Jim of Denver, pouring concrete. This led him to his next adventure to begin another business and he and Arlene moved back to Clovis, New Mexico in 1975.
There they built another home and began their business, Dixon Cement. Later on, he became a general contractor and Dixon Cement and Construction was formed. He worked with Arlene hand in hand for the next 22 years before retirement. After retirement, you could find Fred working in his shop restoring vehicles and tinkering. He loved buying old bicycles and restoring them to give away to children who didn’t have one. He also enjoyed buying broken lawnmowers at garage sales just to prove they could be fixed. In his spare time he would play with his great grandchildren, playing his guitar and singing.
He and Arlene were very active in church. He was a Deacon at Forrest Heights Baptist Church and she was Sunday school teacher and Girls Auxiliary leader. He loved to participate in visitation and was always there to lend a hand to those who were less fortunate. They would host pool parties at their home for the youth groups and have barbecues where all were welcome. Although these were busy years, it brought them great joy and they were always generous with their time and money.
He always found time to ride motorcycles and go on traveling adventures from New York to Oregon. He loved spending time with his grandchildren and later his great grandchildren. He taught most of them life’s valuable lessons that included driving dump trucks, tractors and four wheelers, getting their heads dunked in the pool and magic card lessons. He also always had funny and outrageous stories to tell them. He was blessed to have made many friends that lasted his lifetime through his line of work and was fortunate to have the best of neighbors, Thomas Taylor, Mark Guardipee and Jamie Maldonado. Most of all, having family visiting in their home was always his most treasured times.
Fred is survived by his wife Arlene of almost 69 years; son Randy (Debbie); children Sarah, Bearon (Melody) and their children Noah: Valarie, Eleanore, and Gillian; daughter Kathy Flint and her daughter Terra and her children Andrew and Emma Hess; son Bill (Ceci) and their son Carlos; son Neil (Kathy) and their children: Stacy, Nichole, Brittany, and Kristen. He is also survived by his brother John (Mary) Dixon; and sister-in-law Betty Dixon; and great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his loving pet, Millie.
He was preceded in death by his father and mother Fred and Adeline Dixon; brothers Neal, Jim and Kim Dixon; sisters Evelyn Brown, Jean Kroeger, and Carol Williams.
Barbara Anne Jalonen: 1947 – 2023
Barbara Anne Jalonen, 75, of Glendale, Arizona, died on August 20, 2023 in Glendale.
She was born on August 24, 1947 in Cheyenne to Arthur and Mary Montoya. She graduated from St. Mary’s High School in 1965.
She was a CFD volunteer and performed and directed the Melodrama. Barbara also had her own business washing and grooming dogs.
She is survived by her husband, Harold Jalonen; daughter, Michelle Bryson (Jeff); brothers, David Montoya and Mike Montoya; sister-in-law, Nanci Averyand many nieces, nephews aunts, uncles and cousins.
Funeral Liturgy will be Thursday, 2:00 p.m., at Wiederspahn-Radomsky Chapel.
Matthew Jeffery: 1969 – 2023
Matthew Thomas Jeffrey was born June 15, 1969 to Thomas Jeffrey and Constance (Partlow) Jeffrey in Mankato, Minnesota. He grew up in Mankato and attended Mankato West High School. He worked in Mankato and Minneapolis, Minnesota before moving to Steamboat Springs, Colorado. From Steamboat Springs he moved Breckenridge, Colorado where he worked for various lodges.
He was an avid skier and snowboarder. In 2009 he experienced a medical emergency and decided to move to Cheyenne to be near family. Matt was a lover of cats from a young age, and always had one as a pet. One was very special; her name was Gracie. While in Cheyenne he shared a number of cats with his Mother Connie, watching over and caring for them. In his own way, he had a gentle caring nature. He will be missed.
Donations made be made to Sheridan Second Chance Cat in Sheridan, Wyoming at Second Chance Sheridan Cat Rescue – Second Chance Sheridan Cat Rescue (networkforgood.com) or the Cheyenne Fire Department Fund, by calling 307-637-6374. Please specify that you would like their donation to go to the fire department fund as they were of great service to Matt over the years.
Janice Ragan: 1939 – 2023
Janice, “Jan”, Ragan peacefully went home to be with her lord and savior on September 19, 2023. Jan is now dancing in heaven with her beloved husband, Hank.
Janice Louise Scharton was born in Lincoln, Nebraska on August 13, 1939 to Leroy Scharton and Ruth (Lofink) Scharton. Jan grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska where she would graduate from Lincoln High in 1957. Following graduation, Jan would go on to serve her country in the United States Army for two years as a dental technician.
Jan met her husband of 57 years, Hamilton Ragan (“Hank”), in Lincoln, Nebraska and she married her lifelong mate on December 18, 1959. Jan and Hank welcomed two children into their world: Angela Dawn in 1961 and Shawn Michael in 1964.
In her life, Jan held many hats for a career including administrative assistant for Hy-Gain and human resources specialist for Square-D until her family relocated to Fort Collins, Colorado in 1976. At that time, Jan would work for two insurance offices as an administrative assistant, where she would ultimately retire from American Family Insurance in 2004 after 19 years. Jan and Hank enjoyed traveling the United States and seeing the beautiful areas of the country. Many happy memories were centered around family activities such as camping at Grandpa’s Woods, fishing at Branched Oak, picnicking, sledding at Pioneer’s Park, feeding the ducks, campfires, playing Parcheesi on rainy days, and much more. These activities continued over the decades with the addition of grandchildren and great grandchildren. The fun outdoor memories expanded to include beautiful locations throughout Wyoming and Colorado. The most frequented vacation spot was Thermopolis, Wyoming where she enjoyed spending hours in the hot springs pools. Jan was also able to travel to a variety of spots with her family, to include Las Vegas, California, Boston, Branson, North Carolina, New Orleans, and more. Jan also enjoyed a trip to Ireland with her dear friend, Jan (“Sam”) Nelson.
Jan also enjoyed going to craft fairs with Hank around Colorado, one of her most favorite being Silver Dollar City in Branson, where they would sell Hank’s custom-made camel back trunks.
Jan attended Livermore Community Church for decades, this is where she grew to have an exceptional relationship with her lord. She was also a member of the board and participated in numerous groups/activities with the church. One of her most cherished events with the church was taking her grandchildren to the Old-Fashioned Sundays.
In the spring of 2019 Jan moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming to be closer to her family.
Jan is survived by her children: Angela Ragan-Specht (Brent Kluger), Shawn Ragan (Mary) and David Beams. She is also survived by seven grandchildren: Melissa Kelly (Eddy), Rebecca Thompson (Matt), Jessica Weir (David), Chad Specht (Melissa), Gaylen Ragan, Michael Louser (Karen), and Sean Louser; seven great-grandchildren: Cody and Cheyann Weir, Harper and Hunter Kelly, Ophelia and Maddox Specht, and Malachai Louser. She is also survived by Michael Specht (Ann) who was considered a son. Also, survived by brother, Jerry (Makai) Scharton; and her sister Shirley (Jerry) Morrison.
Jan was preceded in death by her husband, Hank; mother, Ruth; and father, Leroy, Scharton.
Connie Jo Sharpe: 1961 – 2023
Connie Jo Sharpe passed away peacefully on September 20, 2023 at her home in Hillsdale, Wyoming after a long recuperation from a period of illness. She was born on February 20, 1961 in Grand Junction, Colorado.
She is survived by her husband of 25 years, Aaron Sharpe; and her son Samual Sharpe; two brothers, Terry Brown (Janet) and Brent Brown (Dawn); along with sister-in-law Jadin Turvey (Craig); 10 nieces and nephews; and eight great-nieces-and-nephews. She is also survived by a multitude of extended family members.
She was preceded in death by her son, Adam Coufal; her mother, Mary Eckley; and husband Tom; and father, Leo Brown and wife Margie; along with her grandparents on both sides.
Connie Jo, mostly known as Jo, grew up in Grand Junction, Colorado. She graduated from Ft. Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, earning her degree in music education. She spent most of her career as a preschool teacher, speech pathologist, and Special Education Aide both in Colorado and Wyoming. She loved working with children, and thoroughly enjoyed raising bottle calves and riding along while feeding cows here at the ranch in Hillsdale. Her favorite hobby was fly fishing, and collecting all things “trout,” along with attending all of her son, Sam’s, activities.
A celebration of life and memories will be held in the fellowship hall of the Hillsdale United Methodist Church at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 30, 2023. Memorials may be sent to the Hillsdale United Methodist Church in lieu of flowers.
To order flowers, please visit www.theprairierose.net.
