Patricia Carol Hix

Patricia Carol Hix (January 6, 1945 – September 22, 2020) passed away in the presence of her loving family in the early morning hours of September 22nd after a year-long valiant fight against an insidious enemy, ovarian cancer. She was blessed in her passing that she left this earth in the arms and comfort of those who loved her and those who she loved with all of her heart and soul. Her multitude of friends and family will forever remember her as the seminal embodiment of grace, kindness, and love. Her beautiful smile and radiant blue eyes now will forever shine down from heaven.

Carol was born in Geneva County, Alabama in January of 1945 to J.T. And Lucille Byrd. As a girl, she watched, assisted, and learned from her family as they farmed cotton in the red clay soils in and around Hartford, Alabama. It was there that she began to develop her tenacious work ethic and a family-first loyalty. She was blessed with a kind and tender heart and was quick to help those in need. While matriculating through the Geneva County schools, Carol was an athlete, cheerleader, and an exemplary student who defied the odds against a young woman from rural Alabama in the 1960’s and gained admission to Troy State University.

While a student at Troy State, she was a leader and pioneer around the student body who, among other achievements, was a founding member of the Delta Delta chapter of Kappa Delta sorority and was active in numerous other student government activities before graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education and Accounting. Upon graduation, she packed her dreams and adventurous spirit and moved to Florida where she became a teacher at Niceville High School in Walton County.

Her moving to Florida, and her keen taste for root beer floats, led to her meeting the love of her life, Howard Ray Hix, Sr., at a beachfront A&W root beer stand in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida while he was temporarily stationed at Eglin Air Force base during the Vietnam War. Root beer floats have endured as a tradition and retain a great deal of reverence among all the members of her family for this special reason.

Root Beer floats, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and Henry Mancini’s Moon River eventually led to marriage and this inspirational couple made their way from Niceville, Florida to Tennessee, where they gave birth to their son and eventually back to the Wiregrass where she gave birth to their daughter and have remained settled for the past forty five years. When they opened their business, Carol put her accounting skills to work and became the Office Manager of her and her husband’s dental practice. She held that position and together they grew the business until she took leave to battle her illness in the fall of 2019.

Carol and her husband raised their son and daughter in Dothan, Alabama. She has been active in numerous community and church organizations, notably, she has taught the five-year-old Sunday school class for over forty years at Calvary Baptist Church and has directly touched the lives of thousands of both young and old throughout the Wiregrass region.

Selfless throughout her married life, she was forever by the side of her husband and almost exclusively used any spare time to support her family and ultimately her grandchildren. Her adventurous spirit led her on numerous travels to foreign and distant places and she successfully instilled into her children a passion for travel and an ambition of which she was always very proud. Last Summer, her entire family was fortunate to gather together in Eleuthera, Bahamas to celebrate her fiftieth wedding anniversary with the beautiful blue Caribbean waters as a backdrop to celebrate this momentous occasion. During the summer of 2020 Carol celebrated her 51st wedding anniversary. Her epicurean interest led her to find enjoyment and escape in the kitchen and was a prolific baker and chef who most enjoyed the act of sharing a fresh coconut cake or derby pie with those in need of recognition and celebration.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Lucille and J.T. Byrd and Siblings, Thuron Byrd and Rick Byrd. Surviving relatives include her husband, Howard Ray Hix, Sr.; daughter, Jane Hix Dudley and her husband Robert Brent Dudley of Fairhope, Alabama; son, Howard Ray Hix, Jr. and his wife Ashlye of Fairhope, Alabama and Grandchildren, Madeline Jane Dudley (13), Howard Ray Hix, III (11), Robert Brent Dudley, Jr.(11), and Win Davis Hix (8), and brother Gary Byrd of Huntsville, Alabama.

The visitation and funeral service will be held at Calvary Baptist Church in Dothan, Alabama on Saturday, September 26, 2020 with the visitation at 10:00 am and the Funeral Service to follow at 11:00 am. The burial service will occur after the funeral service at Sunset Memorial Park Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the https://www.usahealthsystem.com/give <

Robert and Toni Byrd · Sunset Memorial Park

1700 Barrington Rd, Midland City AL · (334) 983-6604