Tribute Planned for Ex-City Manager Dixon

A memorial tribute is planned for former City Manager David F. Dixon, who died Sunday, just two weeks after he resigned from his position.

“Unfortunately, for the first time, David lost a battle,” said his wife, Elizabeth. The former city official died Sunday night after a recurrence of cancer.

The Orange City Council hired Dixon, 57, to be city manager in February, 1994. Previously, he had held the same post in Sandy, Utah, and in various other California cities, most recently overseeing dramatic growth in Riverside County’s Moreno Valley and Temecula. He also served for three years as assistant county administrative officer for Riverside County.

During his tenure with Orange, Dixon focused on economic growth and helped guide the city through the first months of the Orange County bankruptcy, colleagues said.

“He set in motion a number of economic development projects that will position Orange into the next century,” said Councilman Mike Spurgeon, who noted that Dixon worked to make government more “user-friendly” to citizens. “I think he was a visionary.”

Acting City Manager David L. Rudat, the city’s fire chief, said that Dixon was a “quiet and reserved man” who gave department managers room to be creative. “I found him to be a strong and decisive city manager who had an open mind and gave department heads the opportunity and the authority to manage their departments.”

A native of Salt Lake City, Dixon earned a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Brigham Young University in 1964 and a master’s degree in the field from Redlands University.

He is survived by his wife and three daughters, Kimberly Kent of Frankfurt, Germany, Jodie Conneely of Singapore and Sherie Freeny of Moreno Valley, as well as two stepchildren and one grandchild.

The city will hold a memorial tribute and reception for Dixon in City Council chambers, 300 E. Chapman Ave., at 3 p.m. Thursday, said Mayor Joanne Coontz.

“We are fortunate to be joined by his friends and family to pay tribute to his long service in government,” Coontz said.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Anaheim Sixth Ward, 5275 E. Nohl Ranch Road.

Viewing will precede the services at 10 a.m. at the church.

Burial will be at Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana.