Bobby was born March 3, 1931, one of five children of Robert Skelton and Margaret Beadle, who were prominent citizens of Salmon Arm, BC. She had a happy childhood, with lots of time spent playing outdoors or visiting the beach. Her parents were educators and agriculturists; for many years, her father ran the Salmon Arm Cooperative Creamery and he also served as mayor. They were dyed-in-the-wool supporters of the federal Liberal party and in their home (now listed on Canada’s Register of Historic Places) two prominent portraits hung next to each other: King George VI of England and Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King (known to young Bobby as “The Kenzie King”).

From her parents, Bobby learned a profound dedication to community service. During WWII, Bobby’s father, a veteran, chaired the local National War Finance Committee. So perhaps it is not surprising that when she wasn’t in high school, Bobby (aka Skella) could be found wearing the red apron and blue cap of the “Miss Canada Girls,” and selling War Saving Stamps to support the war effort. After high school, Bobby attended Pittman Business College in Vancouver and worked for the brokerage firm CM Oliver. Bobby met and married Lyle Hewitson. In 1967, they moved to Moyie, BC, to raise their four young girls.

In 1969, Lyle died suddenly, leaving Bobby a widow at age 38. She found work at Canadian Liquid Air in Cranbrook, where she stayed until her retirement. In 1979, she married good-hearted Moyie rancher Waldo Dixson and they shared 32 years of family time, gardening, dancing and playing cards, until Waldo’s death in 2011.

Bobby loved the small, tight-knit town of Moyie and much of her spare time was dedicated to community service. She was a pivotal member of the Moyie Quilter’s Guild and the Moyie Community Association; she did a great deal of work fundraising for projects, including the Moyie Water Board, the creation of the Moyie Community Hall in the former one-room schoolhouse, the establishment of the Moyie Reading Centre, the restoration of the historic Moyie Cemetery, the refurbishment of the deconsecrated St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church with the goal of preserving it, preservation work on the historic Moyie Fire Hall, and the creation of the High House Museum. She also tackled two writing projects. The first, the compact, self-published Moyie Cookbook, was an astonishingly successful fundraiser. The second involved years of working with the Moyie History Book Committee on research, interviews, information-gathering, and editing. The result was the 209-page Moyie Reflections: Recollections of a Kootenay Mining Town, which was published in 1998.

Bobby was never daunted by the scope of any project. She had a clear vision of what made a community better and applied all her determination, steadiness, insight and good humour to the projects she took on. No project was more important to her than her family, though, and she was a loving role model, mentor, and guide. She was never one to judge and was always a devoted parent and true friend. Bobby loved music, singing, sewing, gardening, history, and above all, people. She will be deeply missed.

She was predeceased by her husband Lyle Hewitson, husband Waldo Dixson, daughter Julia Nowek, grandson Matthew Fleming, sisters Molly Bridge and Jane DeRidder, and sister-in-law Carol Skelton. She is survived by her brothers John (Milly) Skelton and James Skelton; daughters Ann (Bob) Hopkins, Mary (Brian) Fleming, Jeanne (Chris) Brock; son-in-law Leon Nowek; step-children Arlene (Dave) Steadman, Lynn (Larry) Coldwell, Keith (Susan) Dixson; five grandchildren, six step-grandchildren; four great grandchildren and 15 step-great grandchildren.

Please join Bobby’s family to commemorate her remarkable life on Friday March 6, 2026 at 1:00 pm at McPherson Funeral Home in Cranbrook, BC. Bobby’s service will be livestreamed, please click the following link to view https://www.hdezwebcast.com/show/ellen-dixson-service

Donations may be made in Bobby’s memory to High House Museum c/o Moyie Community Association, Box 133, Moyie, BC, V0B 2A0 or by e-transfer to [email protected]

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