CLEARWATER, Fla. — Caletta Dixie Smith, 60, Clearwater, Fla., passed away Tuesday (March 8, 2011) after a short but brave battle with cancer.

A memorial service will be at a later date in Florida.

Memorials may be made to Suncoast Hospice Foundation, 5771 Roosevelt Blvd., Clearwater, FL 33760-9962.

She was born July 20, 1950, at Lincoln, a daughter of Calvin W. Short and Etta E. Klokkenga Short.

Dixie graduated from Hartsburg-Emden High School in 1968 and attended Illinois Central College, East Peoria.

She was baptized and confirmed in St. Peter Lutheran Church at Emden, and later transferred membership to United Methodist Church in Dunedin, Fla.

Dixie was an avid and talented seamstress, and she loved animals, particularly dogs and cats — a number of whom were lucky to share her life.

She leaves behind a son, Michael Smith, Sale Creek, Tenn.; a devoted partner, Jeffrey Campbell and his family, Clearwater, Fla.; her mother, Etta Short, Emden; and two sisters, Esther Sparks, Lincoln, and Maralee (William) Boerma, Emden. Dixie will also be missed by her extended family, including the nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews who she enjoyed and loved so much.

Dixie was preceded in death by her father in 1973.