Cynthia Pyle Dixon

Cynthia “Cindy” Pyle Dixon –beloved wife and mother and dedicated attorney – died of interstitial lung disease on Sunday, Oct. 19, in Havertown.

Born in 1954 in Caracas, Venezuela to Americans abroad, Cynthia was the daughter of G. Martin Pyle and Hannah (Kirk) Pyle. The family returned to the United States in 1960, settling on Delancey Street in Philadelphia where her parents restored an 18th Century townhouse during the “urban renewal” of Society Hill. The family moved to Texas in 1968 when her father, an auditor for Atlantic Richfield, was transferred to Houston.

Inheriting a love of Cape May, N.J., from her parents, who bought an 1850s Victorian near the beach in 1967, Cynthia spent virtually every summer of her life at the summer resort. After her parents sold the house in 2007, she rented it back in subsequent summers to continue sharing the “On the Way to Cape May” joy with friends and family.

Cynthia attended the University of Virginia, and graduated from Southern Methodist University (SMU), Dallas, in 1976, and from SMU’s law school in 1979. In Texas, Cynthia worked for the Charles L. Caperton and Counts, Dodge & Ringer law firms, and for Fidelity Union Life Insurance. In 1987, she and her husband – whom she met through a magazine ad “Match.com style” in the pre-Internet era – returned to the Delaware Valley where Cynthia worked for Shared Medical Systems, and the Butera, Beausang, Cohen & Brennan law firm. From 2001 to 2013, she was general counsel for Kenexa (now a division of IBM). Subsequent mergers led her to software firms RES Software and FIS Global, retiring from the latter in January.

Cynthia, a birthright member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), is remembered for her warm presence, generous spirit and love of chocolate. Her family is comforted to know that her many years of hard work were celebrated, and that her brief retirement was spent surrounded by friends and family.

Survivors include Cynthia’s husband, Mark E. Dixon, whom she married in 1983; daughters Abigail Dixon Tipton (Sean), Pottstown, and Rachel Dixon Scibbe (Noah), Chicago; and sister Marilynn Pyle Johnson (Kent), Missouri City, Texas; and many friends and family.

A visitation will be held 6:00-8:00 PM on Friday, Oct. 24th, at The Donohue Funeral Home, 366 W. Lancaster Ave., Wayne, PA 19087, followed by a graveside ceremony at 11:00 AM on Saturday, Oct. 25th, at the burial ground at Willistown Friends Meeting, 7069 Goshen Road, Newtown Square, followed by meeting for worship in the meetinghouse.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to Cradles to Crayons or the American Lung Association.