John W. “JWally” Dixon
John W. “JWally” Dixon, 80, of Philipsburg and formerly of Zion, died Friday, September 25, 2026, at Harmony at State College.
John was born on March 23, 1946, at his family’s homestead in Philipsburg, a son of the late Donald Elmer and Pearl (Blake) Dixon.
He was a 1964 graduate of the Philipsburg – Osceola Area High School.
Early in his working career, he was employed with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for about ten years. He then accepted a position with the Pennsylvania State University as a writer / editor / web developer in the IT Services Department. He retired from Penn State after 30 years of service.
Ever since high school, one of John’s ambitions in life was to be a sports writer. During his working career, he was a part-time writer for a number of area newspapers including: The Progress, the Centre Daily Times, The Daily Journal, the Altoona Mirror, the Lock Haven Express and the local Hometown Sports Magazine. He also enjoyed working as a statistician for the Penn State Football program.
John was a member of St. John Lutheran Church, Bellefonte.
Among his favorite pastimes, he enjoyed spending time out golfing.
He was married on December 9, 2000, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Lanse, to the former Deborah K. “Debbie” Folmar. Debbie survives at home in Philipsburg.
He is also survived by a daughter, Jennifer Fisher and her husband, Bryan, of Huntingdon, Pa.; one granddaughter, Amber Varner; two great-grandchildren; four sisters: Donna Mae Larson, of Redding, California, Janet Arlene Sweeden and her husband, Gary, of Sonoma, California, Jennie Mary Makaiwi, of Kaunakakai, Hawaii, and Kim Marie Barney, of Mississippi; one brother, Ronald L. “Doodle” Dixon and his wife, Linda, of Wallaceton; and numerous other family members and friends.
John was preceded in death by a sister, Geraldine Ann Thomas; two brothers, Kenneth Edmund Dixon and James Earl “Cousy” Dixon, Sr. and an infant brother, Donald Thomas Dixon, in addition to his parents.
A funeral service will be held on Friday, October 2, 2026, at Noon, at the Beezer-Heath Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 719 E. Spruce Street, Philipsburg, Pa., with Pastor William Osman, officiating.
The family will receive guests on Friday from 10 am until the time of the service at the funeral home.
Interment will be in Philipsburg Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made in John’s memory to the St. John Lutheran Church, 216 N. McAllister Street, Bellefonte, PA 16823; or to the charity of the donor’s choice.
Online condolences and memories may be shared at http://www.beezerheathfh.com.
