Roberta "Bertie" Nixon

Nixon, Roberta E. "Bertie", 83 of Ajo, AZ passed away on August 6, 2013. It was a sad day for us, but a happy day for Bertie as she was looking forward to meeting Jesus and lived her life for this day.

Bertie was born on October 9, 1929 in Clovis, New Mexico to Bennie & Cordie Davis, their only child, and eventually moved to Clarkdale, AZ where Bennie worked for the United Verde Copper Company. Her parents owned the Summit Ridge Drive-in restaurant where she loved working as a car hop. Shortly after graduating from Clarkdale High School, where she was a majorette, she moved to Ajo with her parents when Bennie was hired by Phelps Dodge.

It was in Ajo that she met the handsome William "Bill" Nixon, whom she married in March of 1951. They were happily married for 47 years in the home they purchased on McKinley where she lived for the rest of her life.

An entrepreneur, Bertie purchased a Diet Center franchise and later opened "The Little White House", an antique store. She enjoyed traveling to Phoenix to estate sales to purchase items for her store, specializing in crystal and china. Bill and Bertie owned Ajo Auto Wrecking and Towing and helped many throughout the community including the Tohono O’odham reservation.

When Phelps Dodge closed the mine in Ajo, Bertie volunteered to "manage" the Ajo Cemetery. PD gave her the records, and from that point on she took "reservations" for the free plots. In 1986, she formed the not for profit, Ajo Cemetery Association, and PD released ownership of the cemetery to the ACA. In order to keep the cemetery clean of weeds and the trash removed, she asked the local judge to assign those sentenced to perform public service to clean the cemetery. As a primary funding source, she published an Ajo Cookbook with recipes from the people in town along with vintage pictures of Ajo. Due to its popularity, a 2nd edition was published. She especially enjoyed helping relatives locate the graves of their loved ones. After serving as an officer and volunteer caretaker for over 25 years, at the age of 82, Bertie asked that someone else take over the cemetery.

A special dream of Bertie’s was to see a huge reunion for the graduates and students of the Verde Valley area (Clarkdale, Camp Verde, Clemenceau, Cottonwood & Jerome) from the 1920’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. She devoted months and months sleuthing and talking to as many people as possible. Bertie planned and organized the 1996 Clarkdale Reunion, which was hailed as a "Once in a Lifetime Reunion" of over 400 people.

Bertie was an extrovert and if rated on a scale of 1 to 10, she was a 15! She loved talking to everyone, from cashiers, bank personnel, and other shoppers to strangers that she passed on her way to her table in a restaurant. Bertie will be remembered for her radiant and infectious smile. She loved watching people’s faces change from a frown to a smile back to her.

Her parents and her husband preceded her in death. She is survived by her two daughters, Elaine Davis (Glenn Davis) and Willene Nixon (Ted Morales), stepdaughter, Jeanie Nixon, her lifelong friend, Lonnie "Slim" Eidson and two granddogs, Bo and Princess.

Bertie was a member of the Full Gospel Fellowship Church. At her request, there will be a short graveside service at the Ajo Cemetery at 10 AM on Tuesday, August 13th. In lieu of flowers, it would make Bertie flash her best smile if donations were made to the Ajo Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 503, Ajo, AZ 85321.