Audrey Branker Dixon, 80, of Oak Bluffs died at home on January 24. The cause was cancer.
Born in Vineland, N.J., in 1930, Audrey moved to New York City as a young adult to begin a career as a manager at AT&T and New York Telephone Company. In 1953 she married Richard Dixon, son of Liz White of Oak Bluffs. They spent their honeymoon on the Island, and many summer vacations followed. By marriage, she was a member of the Shearer family of Oak Bluffs, owners of historic Shearer Cottage.
In the 1960s, she was cast as Desdemona in Liz White’s “Othello,” a film starring Yaphet Koto that still is used in college curricula. Audrey’s photo with her co-star, Koto, is featured on the cover of Peter S. Donaldson’s “Shakespearean Films/Shakespearean Directors,” published in 1990 by Unwin Hyman.
Audrey became a full-time Oak Bluffs resident in 2004, and she spent her final years on the Island, gardening and enjoying the hawks that nested in the trees surrounding her Highlands home. She was a member of the East Chop Association.
She was predeceased by her husband in 2004.
Audrey is survived by her daughter, Deborah Dixon Toledo, and granddaughter, Shera Toledo, both of Houston, Texas. She is also survived by two older sisters, Claire and Eileen, nieces Carol and Maritza, and nephews Carl, Alan, and Patrick.
At her request, no funeral services will be held at this time. Instead, a memorial service for Audrey will be held on the Island in August 2011. For information about the service, contact Deborah Toledo at texastoledo@yahoo.com.
In lieu of flowers, please send a donation in her name to Island Hospice, P.O. Box 4188, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568.
