Dixie Marie Rushing

Our mom, Dixie Marie (Constant) Rushing, passed from earth peacefully on the afternoon of April 2, 2026. We will always remember how she gave of herself, and her beautiful smile, which she openly shared with others! She loved unconditionally and was in turn surrounded by love.

Mom was a lifelong resident of West Des Moines, born to Theodore "Bonnie" and Ruby (Birmingham) Constant on January 1, 1946, the youngest of their four children. As a kid, she loved to spend time with many aunts, uncles and cousins in the neighborhood. We often heard "every Sunday was a family reunion."

Mom attended Phenix Elementary and was a proud member of the 1964 Valley High School graduation class. While growing up, a favorite activity of Mom's was roller-skating with friends at the Rollercade, where the love of her life, our dad, Bob Rushing, asked her to skate with him when they were just 14. People were important to her - she loved bringing people together. She coordinated many reunions for her extended family and helped to plan several class reunions, as well as monthly breakfasts with some of her classmates.

Our mom and dad were united in Holy Matrimony at the old Sacred Heart Catholic Church on June 27, 1964. They welcomed us three and gave us the best childhood. We grew up on Linnwill Place in West Des Moines, where Mom's whistle was known by all the neighbors. As a family we enjoyed vacations, making it to 27 states - camping in many of them, and discovering our love for America, the Beautiful. Our family also enjoyed camping near home with family and friends. Many hours were spent at the campground, and on the water, at Lake Rathbun with the Snow Family. An avid water-skier, Mom had a role in teaching all three of us to ski.

Mom was a stay-at-home-mom for many years, always there for us, and there for many other kids, too. She was a volunteer in the lunchroom and on the playground at our school, Phenix Elementary, a classroom mom for all our classrooms, and typed The Phenix Sun to share news about school with other families. During those years, she was also a Camp Fire leader, and supported Boy Scouts as a mom, and the wife to the Pack Leader. Some favorite times were overnights at Camp Hantesa; and when Phenix, Camp Fire, and/or Boy Scouts had a skating event. Mom loved to dance on those eight wheels, and she was really good at it.

Mom spent many hours in the stands of softball, baseball, and volleyball games, and wrestling meets, too, cheering for us with that distinct whistle. She continued that trend with the grandkids as they started their activities. In addition to the cheering, Mom is the one who could be counted on to take pictures at all events, big and small. She would often say, "When it is all said and done, all you have are the pictures." Even with 32 people we successfully had family pictures taken at least every other year, because it made her happy! She took quite a few pictures of big and small critters, too. With the family pictures, pictures of milestones, vacations, family events, and our kids' events, and yes, even the critters pictures, Mom's memory will endure many generations.

As we got older, Mom decided to work outside the home, taking a job with JCPenney at Valley West Mall, where she worked in the store, and then in the Geographical District Office located in the same building. After the district office closed, she contemplated a full retirement but when her best friend, Marilyn decided to work, Mom chose to work through a temp agency contracting for a variety of assignments including some favorites: UPS, Child Support Recovery at DHS, and IPERS. Mom's favorite of all those assignments was IPERS, where she was able to help people in such a positive way. She enjoyed every job for different reasons, but mostly because she got to meet so many wonderful people who became great friends, and one even became her daughter-in-law.

In 1987, with Teddy graduated, Mom and Dad continued their travels without kids, venturing to the other 27 states, to make it to all 50, as well as Canada and Mexico. They loved the time they spent together exploring the USA. They were blessed to meet so many amazing people during their travels, most of them documented in those pictures we mentioned earlier. A favorite event they loved was the Retiring of the Colors at Mt. Rushmore. (Mom would highly recommend it if you ever get a chance to see it.) They went on a trip to see Alaska for the third time in September 2025 and went to Florida as snowbirds for the 19th time in December 2025.

In addition to traveling, Mom was a crafter! Crocheting was her first craft. Numerous blankets and throws were created with her gifted hands. She passed that talent on to her son-in-law. Mom also loved to scrapbook, creating books for her grandkids and many others from her and dad's travels and cruises. Countless hours were spent scrapbooking with Marilyn and other friends, sometimes a few pages even got completed. She also developed a love for quilting. The vision she had when sewing tiny pieces of fabric together was remarkable. She was a member of an elite group called the "Sew Sisters." The camaraderie when they would get together to sew was a joyous treasure for Mom. Us kids ,and all the grandkids, have quilts made by Mom; and we know how much love was sewn into every stitch.

Family was so important to Mom, as she conveyed to us every day. Having Mom as the heart of our family was a blessing. She loved being a wife for almost 62 years, a mom, a grandma, and a great grandma. We thank God that He gave us the best! The only thing better than having her as a MOM was our kids getting to have her as a GRANDMA. She was an extraordinary mom. She was an even better grandma! One of her favorite sayings: "All Because Two People Fell In Love" is just so appropriate for our family. From our mom and dad, the two who fell in love, we have three kids Bobby (Carol), Robin (Chris), Ted (Mindy); nine grandchildren: Ashley (Kyle), Megan (Johnny), Robbie (Jenna), Zach (Michelle), Jordyn (Stephen), Austin (Shannen), Anne, Megan (Jake), and Lathan; and twelve great-grandchildren: Mackenzie, Ashton, McKinley, Evan, Claire, Evelyn, Sophie, Brooklyn, Arabella, Vivian, Miles, and Parker.

It was Mom's decision to request no flowers or plants, instead, please consider a donation to St. Jude Children's Hospital in her name.

Thank you for celebrating the life of our mom! She quite literally meant the world to us! With our dad, we sincerely appreciate the support of our family at this time!

Bobby, Robin, & Ted

A Visitation will be held at Sacred Heart Church (1627 Grand Ave, West Des Moines, IA 50265) on April 9, 2026 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., followed by a Funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m., with a luncheon after the Mass.