Obituary: Hix, Joan G. “Jody”
Age 86
A memorial service will be held at Hamblen Park Presbyterian Church in Spokane on Monday, December 2nd, at 10:00 a.m. Jody was born February 8th, 1927 in Colorado Springs, Colorado to Dr. Charles O. Giese and Margaret Niesley Giese.
In 1943, she graduated from San Luis Ranch High School in Colorado Springs.
In 1945, she received her AA degree from Stevens College in Columbia, Missouri and finished her BA at Stanford University, graduating in 1947.
After graduation she went to work in San Francisco, California for the Emporium department store until 1949 when she married Clarence Richard Hix.
They moved to Spokane where they raised three children; Charles, Thomas and Constance.
During her time in Spokane Jody served two terms as president of the Deaconess Hospital Auxiliary and supported her children’s many activities including acting as Campfire Leader and Den Mother.
In 1975, she moved with her husband to Yerington, Nevada and then on to Huntington Beach, California and back to Yerington before moving to Roseburg, Oregon.
During this time, Jody traveled extensively with her husband and became an avid golfer, a game she taught her grand- sons and played into her seventies.
After the death of her husband in 1989, Jody moved to Gardnerville, Nevada to be closer to her daughter and family.
She was a member of P.E.O.
for many years and helped charter a new chapter in Gardnerville and served as the first president.
After her daughter’s passing in 2007, she remained in Gardnerville until her youngest grandson graduated from high school and then moved back to Spokane, Washington in 2009 to be close to her son Tom and his family.
In Spokane, she continued to be active in the P.E.O.
philanthropic organization and joined Hamblen Park Presbyterian Church.
Jody was preceded in death by her husband C. Richard (Dick) Hix; and her daughter Constance Joan Hix Wennhold.
She is survived by son Charles (Cathy) Hix of Fairfax, VA., son Thomas (Deanne) Hix of Spokane, Washington; granddaughters, Casey, Suzanne, Jacqueline, and Ashley and their families; grandsons, Adam and Aaron; seven great-grandchildren; special family friend, Sue Chapin and her family of Spokane, Washington; and numerous friends.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to the Spokane Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children or the Hospice of Spokane.