Dr. Jay D. Dix of Columbia died of bladder cancer on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2002, at his home. He was 54. Dr. Dix was born Jan. 3, 1948, in Heidelberg, Germany, to Harold Leon and Faith Louise Pfeffer Dix. He grew up in Pueblo, Colo., and married Mary Jay Stewart in Huron, Ohio, on Oct. 25, 1969.

He served with the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1971, received his bachelor’s degree in zoology and pre-med from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1973 and graduated from the MU School of Medicine in 1977.

Dr. Dix received his American Board of Pathology certification in anatomic and forensic pathology in 1980. He served as medical examiner for Boone and Callaway counties and MU assistant professor of pathology until 1989, when he left Missouri for a yearlong stint as chief deputy medical examiner of New York City. In 1990, he returned to Columbia and resumed his duties as the local medical examiner and MU associate professor of pathology and chief of forensic pathology.

Memorial services for Dr. Dix will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at Woodcrest Chapel, 2201 W. Nifong.

Dr. Dix is survived by his wife, Mary Dix of Columbia; two daughters, Kelsey and Melissa Dix, both of Columbia; his mother, Faith Dix of Pueblo, Colo.; his sister, Faith Doreen Clason, also of Pueblo; and his brother, Drew Dix of Alaska.

Memorials may be sent to the Jay Dix, M.D., Scholarship Fund, Rock Bridge High School, Attn: Kathy Ritter, 4303 S. Providence Road, Columbia, Mo. 65203.