Dixie Lee Mendenhall McClain, age 83, of Sulphur Springs, peacefully went home to be with the Lord on Christmas morning while being a patient at Christus Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler. She had suffered from Pulmonary Fibrosis for several years.
Dixie was born in Jacksboro, Texas on June 17, 1942, to Luther and Verna Lee Mendenhall. She grew up in Midway, Texas between Jacksboro and Henrietta, and attended school there through the tenth grade. She and her parents and her little sister, Sherry, moved to Cooper in the summer of 1958 so their girls could play basketball for the Cooper Bulldogettes.
In her senior year at Cooper High School, Dixie, along with a multi-talented group of basketball players, won the Class 1-A, Texas High School State Championship. Dixie and Sharlene (Garrison) Freeman were selected First Team All-State Players, and Dixie played in the Texas All-Star game. Their teammate, Fredda (Newman) Horton, played forward and was the only player in Cooper girls basketball history to start on two teams that won the State Championship in 1958 and 1960.
Dixie was a 34-year career educator on the elementary and junior high level and was Assistant Principal at Cooper Junior High when she retired in 2001. She was a breast cancer survivor. She received her bachelor’s degree from East Texas State University and attended Texas Women’s University and UT Tyler while working on her masters.
Dixie was a gifted pianist and was a pianist for a number of churches throughout the years. She had a passion for writing. Her thoughts ran deep, and she had the unique talent of penning her thoughts. Her vocabulary was extensive. She had a passion for her family and her husband of 64 years. She was a Godly woman!
She is survived by her husband, Mack; two sons and a daughter as follows; Scott McClain and wife, Susan of Norman, OK, their children, Jonah, Jaxton, Ashton and Emerson; Trent McClain and wife ASimee of Kyle, TX, their children, Eli McClain and Bowyn and Gracie Bankston; Daughter, Lynlee McNair and husband, James of Sulphur Springs and their children, Luke and Libby Negrete and Blake McNair and wife and daughter, Whitley and Harper; one sister, Sherry Preas of Greenville, TX and her son Jeremy Preas. Also surviving is her cousins Allen Brock of Wichita Falls, TX and Olivia Jones of Ft. Worth, TX. She was preceded in death by her parents.
Dixie’s life will be celebrated on Saturday, January 3, 2026, at 11:00 AM at the church she and Mack serve, the Pickton Methodist Church in Pickton, TX off Hwy 11 East towards Winnsboro. Their son Scott will officiate the celebration.
In lieu of flowers, please make contributions payable to the Cooper ISD/ Girls Basketball, 759 FM 1528, Cooper, TX 75432. Please specify, “In Memory of Dixie Mendenhall and the 1960, Class 1-A Texas State Champion Cooper Bulldogettes.”
