Jeremy David Dixon, age 40, of Hays, Kansas passed away October 14, 2022, in Colorado after a very long, brave, and hard-fought battle with Combat PTSD. He was born January 1, 1982, at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland to David Dixon and Robin Low. Jeremy attended college and earned an Associates of Business degree. On February 10, 2022, he married his best friend Heather Nicole Stremel in Hays after dating for a few years.
Jeremy was a US Marine veteran with the rank of Sergeant. He joined the US Marine Corps in 2003 where he was a helicopter mechanic. He went on his first deployment to Iraq from 2004 to 2005. It was there that he was on the front lines during the second battle of Fallujah, while although short, was the bloodiest battle in our Nation’s history since the Vietnam War. Jeremy deployed a second time to Afghanistan from 2006 to 2007. It was the first deployment and his time in Fallujah that created a daily battle with the demons of war that would haunt him until his last day on earth. He was so proud to have met and married a US Navy Hospital Corpsman, always saying that he had found his very own Doc to take care of him. He tried with all his might to battle those demons, staying strong in his faith in God the entire time. Jeremy had the heart of a warrior. Ask anyone close to him about what he had been through in his lifetime and they’d tell you he made it through so much with a fighting spirit.
Jeremy was most recently working as a Heavy Equipment Operator with the Trego County Road and Bridge department. He had worked at Stanion Wholesale in Hays, as well as a project manager for a flooring company in Denver prior to moving to Kansas.
Jeremy enjoyed riding his Harley side by side with Heather on hers. He LOVED sports. Sundays were dedicated to football, and he would be up at 7 am sharp with his Broncos jersey on ready to go. He had the ability to remember sporting events by date, score, plays, and even the weather that day. You could ask him where any athlete went to college and he could instantly rattle it off. Heather always called him a “savant” – she was absolutely enamored by his beautiful, gifted mind. Behind closed doors, Jeremy was a big teddy bear. No matter what kind of day he had, he wanted to make sure those he loved were ok, and he gave the best hugs when they were needed. He was an avid dog lover. His pride and joy was his 150 pound Blue Merle Great Dane, Teufel, but he loved all 5 other animals of his and loved having a cuddle puddle in bed after a long day, with all the animals snuggled up between and on top of him and Heather. He enjoyed fly fishing, camping with his kids, going through his and Titan’s baseball card collection, road trips, and watching Bill Burr stand-up, Seinfeld, and Chapelle’s Show on repeat with Heather (he could recite just about every word from both shows). Laughter was always the best medicine for him.
Toward the end of his life, Jeremy was passionate about helping people succeed with their sobriety, while silently struggling with his own. His number one goal was to see that those he loved didn’t struggle with addiction the way he did. He’d drop everything to be by anyone’s side, friend or foe, just to make sure they made it through the night sober.
He is survived by his wife, Heather of Hays; his mother and step father, Robin Mitchell and Curtis of Conway, Missouri; his children, Titan Joseph Dixon of Hays and Rayne Rene Dixon of Northglenn, Colorado; his step children, Patrick Spencer Banzhaf of Hays and Kaeley Elizabeth Banzhaf of Lakewood, Colorado; his brothers, Joshua (Katelyn) Templeton of Scottsbluff, Nebraska and James (Beka) Pendleton of Atlanta, Georgia; a sister, Jessica Dixon (Brian Hedrick) of Kiowa, Colorado; his grandfather Terry (Karen) Low of Clute, Texas, and his grandmother, who he adored and lovingly referred to as “Grams”, Joanna Patterson of Lindale, Texas.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Joseph Templeton and grandparents, Ken Patterson and Robert “Troy” Troyanski.
Memorial services will be held 3:00 PM Friday, October 28, 2022, at the Kansas State Veterans’ Cemetery in WaKeeney, Kansas, with a reception following at the VFW in Hays. All are invited- we want to show Jeremy just how loved he was. The family requests that those who wish to drive to the cemetery in procession meet at Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel at 2:00 pm that day.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the family via Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel to help cover funeral expenses and bills during this difficult time.
Heather wishes to remind anyone struggling that you are not alone, and whatever you are going through right now is temporary, no matter how difficult it may seem. Please reach out to a family member, friend, or the suicide hotline- just call or text 988 or 1-800-273-8255 (Veterans press option 1). To the world, you may be one person. But to one person, you may be the world.
Arrangements in care of Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel and Crematory, 2509 Vine, Hays, KS 67601.
Condolences may be left by guest book at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com
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