Dixie Carol Janzen, 90, of Hays, Kansas passed away at her home Monday morning, February 9, 2026.
She was born in Baxter Springs, Kansas, on October 17, 1935, to Otho and Mae (Jones) Wittenmyer.
After moving with her family to Lyons, Kansas, she met Edwin Janzen of nearby Lorraine during her junior year of high school. When her father was transferred, Dixie and Ed made the decision to marry on August 1, 1953, in the little town of Frederick. Consequently, she was a married woman during her senior year. The couple welcomed son Christopher in September of 1954 and a daughter, Dana, in 1957.
Dixie and Ed farmed south of Geneseo but made a difficult decision to leave the farm and move to Great Bend, eventually ending up in Hays in 1968. Ed was a jobber, a distributer of gas and oil, for DX, Conoco and Phillips. As the business expanded into Janzen Oil Co., Dixie was integral to making decisions about the direction of the company. A comfortable life allowed her to enjoy being a homemaker, while buying, decorating, and selling numerous homes over the 72 years of marriage she shared with Ed. Other interests were reading, singing, fashion, and, she said unapologetically, shopping.
Although Dixie was somewhat of a private person, she was interested in other people and would astound her family by how she seemed to know life histories of waitresses, salesclerks, and other casual acquaintances. Those fortunate to call her a close friend admired her strength, wisdom, faithfulness, and confidence.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Sandra Frost, Patsy Fitch, and Donna Brewer, brother Mickey Wittenmyer, and a beloved granddaughter, Jennifer Goetz.
Her survivors include her husband, Ed, her son, Chris, and daughter, Dana Goetz (Chris), all of Hays; granddaughter, Laura Buhlig (Tim), and great-grandchildren Kaison, Kallie, Joshua, Alexander, Ivan, and Layla, all of North Ogden, Utah; and Gage and Wyatt Hallam, of Andover, Kansas. Also surviving is a brother, Mike (Betty), of Seneca, Missouri and a sister, Sue Robinson, of Galena, Kansas.
Cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be at a later date and announced by Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home. Memorial contributions may be made payable to the First United Methodist Church of Hays or to the Hays Arts Council, in care of Hays Memorial Chapel, 1906 Pine Street, Hays, Kansas 67601. Condolences and memories of Dixie may be left for her family at www.haysmemorial.com