Command Sergeant Major Dixon S. Barfield, U.S. Army (Retired), age 87, a proud veteran of the U.S. Army passed away the morning of November 22, 2023, in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, following a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s Disease.
He was born on April 28, 1936, to Levy and Dorcas Barfield. Dixon grew up in Lumberton, N.C., where following high school at age 17, he joined the service with his parents’ signature of consent. He married Linda (Spicer) Barfield in Xenia, Illinois, on June 9, 1957. They enjoyed 66 ½ years of marriage. Having lived 49 of those 66 years in Germany they remained there in retirement in 2009.
Dixon served 30 years in the Army and following retirement did not feel his service was complete, therefore he spent the next 20 years teaching at the New York Military Academy and completed his teaching in Germany heading the ROTC Program in Baumholder. He valued his service highly and attained the rank of Command Sergeant Major. He served in Korea, Vietnam, and earned the Legion of Merit Award and Bronze Stars with oak leaf cluster.
Following his second retirement from serving, Dixon was happiest working in his garden and caring for his flowers. His diagnosis of Parkinson’s in 2004 didn’t stop his work of tending to the many varieties of roses. He was a great history buff, a collector of stamps and antiques, and was a proud owner of a 51-year-old Mercedes convertible.
CSM Barfield is survived by his loving wife, Linda, sisters-in-law, Lulu Mae Rascher and Betty (Gene) Pieplow, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Other survivors include special friends, the best neighbor in the world, Martin Sowiak and his German grandson Tim Dalheimer, who always took him for a ride in his “oldtimer” convertible.
He was preceded in death by his parents Levy and Dorcas Barfield, a brother Lanier and wife Pauline Barfield, sister Carolyn Barfield-Chaldy, parents-in-law, Fawn and Leland Spicer, and a brother-in-law, Roy Rascher.
A funeral ceremony honoring the life of CSM Barfield will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, December 17, 2023, at Frank & Bright Funeral Home in Flora. Interment will follow in Oddfellows Cemetery, Xenia, with the presentation of military funeral honors. A visitation will be held from 1 until 2 p.m. on Sunday at the funeral home. To share a condolence or memory, visit: www.frankandbright.com
