William (Bill Eagle) Riley Dixon Obituary (1928

William Riley Dixon, aka Bill Eagle, of Blair went to be with the Lord July 11, 2016. William was born December 25, 1928 in Columbus, Ohio to Charles E. and Betty (Jones) Dixon. He was raised in and around Columbus. Bill served in the United States Army from 1951 to 1954. He received several medals and an honorable discharge. Sergeant James (Ivan) 'Kinch' Kinchloe, played by Ivan Dixon in the television sitcom Hogan's Heroes, was Bill's staff sergeant in the U.S. Army. Bill began singing and yodeling at the age of seven. His mother could hear him yodeling several blocks away on his way home from school. Bill had many talents besides writing and singing songs and playing guitar. In the late 1940s when he did minstrel shows he dressed up, painted faces, and acted on stage. Once he built a homemade bass out of a G.I. water can, as well as a gutbucket, and everyone enjoyed hearing him play the spoons. He did carpenter work, built homes with his dad, building maintenance, was good at making furniture, and finding and repairing almost anything, except cars. His dad would not allow him to even wash the car. Bill was inducted into the America's Old Time Music Hall of Fame in Iowa in 1999 and traveled the world over, performing from East to West Coast, to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas and from Nashville to overseas. For 15 years Bill entertained from South Padre Island to Zapata, Texas in the Winter Texans Parks. Bill sang and played in Omaha at the WOW radio station. The first song that he wrote was for his wife, Shirley Ann and was entitled, “Shirley Ann, I Love You.” The first song he wrote for his daughter was entitled, “Are You That Angel,” which was No. 1 on the charts for 8 weeks in California. His next song was written for his great-grand daughter entitled, “Jaelynn Marie,” and the last song he wrote with his wife Shirley was entitled, “I Will Always Love You.” Bill had five albums and entertained until February 12, 2016. Bill loved his trips to Texas every fall for the winter with Shirley. Bill married his wife Shirley (Knudsen) Murphy on February 12, 2001 at Paradise R.V. Park in Mission, Texas, where they wintered every year of their married life, as Bill liked to be warm. Bill accepted Christ as his Savior on July 2, 2013 and was baptized August 9, 2015 by Pastor Andrew Schank of Great Commission Baptist Church of Blair. Bill was a loving husband, dad, grandpa and great-grandpa. Bill was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by the love of his life, Shirley; children, Pamela (Dale) Stickney of Omaha, Jim (Kim) Murphy of Blair, Lolita L. and Stephanie J. Dixon; three grandsons Dustin (Sara Ludlow) Murphy of Indiana, Jacob (Ashley Fox) Murphy, and Zachariah Murphy of Blair; four great-grandchildren Jaelynn Marie Murphy of Omaha, Keaton and Braydon Murphy of Blair and Evelynn Murphy of Fremont; sister-in-law Hazel Gilliam; brother-in-law Don (Dorothy) Knudsen all of Omaha; nieces and nephews; a special friend and caregiver, Joyce Smith of Lyons; as well as a host of family and friends and entertainers from the country music world. Visitation will be Thursday, July 28 at Campbell Aman Funeral Home starting at 2 p.m. with family receiving friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held Friday, July 29 at Great Commission Baptist Church 924 Grant St. in Blair at 10 a.m. Memorials may be directed to the family. Funeral Services provided by Campbell Aman Funeral Home.