Dixie B. Hacking

Dixie Blackburn Hacking, our beloved Matriarch left this world Oct 15, 2022. Her life was a testament to love, patience, kindness, mercy, honesty, strength, and grace. Thank you for serving our family as long as you could.

Dixie was born May 8, 1934, in a little log cabin located in Maeser Utah. Her parents were James Burnett Blackburn and Ida May Caldwell Blackburn. She was the fourth child and 12 years younger than her dear sister. Her first six years were spent on a ranch on Brush Creek. The last time she rode by the ranch she saw the mining operations unbridled rape of the area and put her head in her hands and wept. She always said the mine had promised it would restore the area. After over 50 years it seems to have been a cruel hoax. Her family lived like pioneers without electricity and plumbing. Her life was influenced by the Great Depression and World War II, often telling us of the trials her generation endured. She grew up in a hardworking family and her first goal was to have a career. After graduating high school, she left home and got a job at the Denver Post. When she returned to Vernal, she started working for Vernal City where she worked for 45 years.

She married Tommy O’Donnell Hacking on Sept. 8th, 1955. She loved to tell the story of how Aunt Fern made her write to him while he was in the Air Force during the Korean War. She must have made an impression on him because when he came home, he went to the Vernal City Offices to ask her to dinner. Mother would tell us she looked up from her desk and there stood the most handsome man she had ever seen holding his cowboy hat.

Dixie and Tom shared their love of the outdoors with their children. Money was not spent on trips to Disneyland. Most weekends we all pitched in to get our chores done so we could explore the mountains, badlands, rivers, and creeks. Dixie still worked for the city and still found time for her beautiful garden and home. Her home was hub for family and friends coming to town. She devoted many hours to her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Many of her school friends stayed close most of her life.

Dixie was preceded in death by her parents James Burnett Blackburn and Ida May Caldwell Blackburn. Her brother Ardon, Jim and sister Dona (Beck), nephews Ardon and Alan Beck, Son in-law Tim Woolstenhulme and the love of her life Tommy O’Donnell Hacking.

Survived by children Jamie Hacking, Julie Woolstenhulme and Matt Hacking. A Nephew who was like a son Buckley Blackburn. Her grandchildren Jessica Swett Winterton, James Swett, Cory Hacking, Logan Hacking, Whitney Henline, Elizabeth (Liz) Hacking, Alex Baldridge and Lindi Woolstenhulme. Her great grandchildren Chelsea Richens Kogianes, Ryan and Tommy Faircloth, Abigail Grace Winterton, Draden and Salisha Swett, Hunter, Caleb and Paxton Henline, Maddax, and Zeryk Hacking.

Special thanks to Good Shepard Hospice and the Vernal Beehive Home who provided extraordinary care and support for Mom through these trying times.