Martha Elaine Dixon Bland, age 76, died peacefully at her Jackson, TN residence on Wednesday, February 16, 2022.
A native of Brownsville, TN, she was born on September 10, 1945, the daughter of the late Malcolm Durwood and Mary Frances Cain Dixon. She was a graduate of Haywood High School and an Honors graduate from the former Lambuth College. Martha had a love for educating and inspiring young minds, leading her to spend her career teaching 1st and 2nd grade, through which she developed the “Green Tomato Theory”. She later held the classifications of master teacher and state certified teaching evaluator. After retirement from public education, Martha and her husband Dan moved to Pascagoula, MS, where she served as Director of Youth Programs with the East Lawn Methodist Church. After Hurricane Katrina devastated their home in Mississippi, they returned to West Tennessee, where she was active in leading a Bible study group.
Other than her parents, she is predeceased by her oldest son, Michael Bland.
She is survived by her husband of fifty-eight years, Dan Bland of Jackson, TN; son, John Bland of Clinton, MS; brother, Malcolm Durwood Dixon of Palm Springs, CA; sister, Nancy McCormick of Jackson, TN; and three grandchildren, Shreve, Jade and Bo Michael
SERVICES: A memorial service will be held on Sunday, February 27, 2022, at 3:00 PM in the chapel of Arrington Funeral Directors. The family will be receiving friends on Sunday from 1:00 PM until 3:00 PM prior to the service.
The family is requesting that memorial contributions be directed to the Alzheimer’s Association, PO Box 41428, Nashville, TN 37204 or www.alz.org.
Memorial contributions can be made here: https://joingenerous.com/arrington-memorial-martha-elaine-dixon-bland-ksr8smy
