Lucille Reiniger (Willson) Heedee (1890 - 1974)

Born 30 Jul 1890 in Estherville, Emmet, Iowa, United States

Ancestors

Died 6 Feb 1974 at age 83 in Fair Haven, Monmouth, New Jersey, United States

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Biography

Dixie (Willson) Heedee is Notable.

Lucile Reiniger "Dixie" was born to John David Reynolds Willson Rosalie Eliza Reiniger on 30 July 1890 in Estherville, Emmet, Iowa. She was the older sister of Meredith Willson. She was an accomplished author. She wrote 20 books (see below), screenplay writer & film adaptations. In 1931, she adopted a daughter, Dianne "Dana" Willson Briggs.

She wrote 20 books, several screenplays, over 30 short stories. She co-wrote the 1923 silent film, The Age of Design [1]. In 1926, her novel "God Gave Me Twenty Cents" became a silent film [2]. In 1928, so co-wrote the lost silent film, Three-Ring Marriage [3]. The 1932 British drama film, Ebb Tide [4] was based on her novel, God Gave Me Twenty Cents

On 12 Oct 1915, she married Benjamin Harrison Lampert. The marriage was short-lived, but it did assist her in landing in Chicago, Illinois. On 27 Nov 1945, she married Charles Edward Heede (Hayden). Charles adopted Dixie's adopted daughter, Dana. They separated in the 1960s but stayed married.

She died on 6 February 1974 at the age of 83 in Fair Haven, Monmouth, New Jersey. Her ashes are buried in the Willson family plot at Mason City's Elmwood Cemetery.

Sources

• 1900 United States Federal Census; Year: 1900; Census Place: Mason City, Cerro Gordo, Iowa; Roll: 423; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0028; FHL microfilm: 1240423

• 1910 United States Federal Census; Year: 1910; Census Place: Mason Ward 3, Cerro Gordo, Iowa; Roll: T624_396; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0034; FHL microfilm: 1374409

• 1920 United States Federal Census; Year: 1920; Census Place: Mason, Cerro Gordo, Iowa; Roll: T625_483; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 37; Image: 350

• 1950 United States Federal Census; National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Long Branch, Monmouth, New Jersey; Roll: 3899; Page: 80; Enumeration District: 13-108

• Iowa State Census Collection, 1836-1925; (1892 IA State Census)

• Iowa State Census Collection, 1836-1925 (1915 IA State Census)

• Iowa State Census, 1895

• Iowa State Census, 1905

• Iowa, U.S., Births (series) 1880-1904, 1921-1944 and Delayed Births (series), 1856-1940 [Name Lucile R. Wilson, Gender Female, Race White, Birth Date 6 Aug 1890, Birth Place Emmet, Iowa, USA; Father John D. R Wilson, Mother Rosa Reiniger]

• Iowa, U.S., Marriage Records, 1880-1951 [Name Lucille Remeger Willson, Gender Female, Race Caucasian (White), Age 26, Birth Date abt 1889, Birth Place Estherville IA., Marriage Date 12 Oct 1915, Marriage Place Cerro Gordo, Iowa, USA; Spouse Benjamin H Lampart, Father John David Willson, Mother Rosa Lee Reineger]

• New Jersey, U.S., Death Index, 1848-1878, 1901-2017 [Name Dixie Willson, Death Date 6 Feb 1974, Death Place Loch Arbour, Monmouth, New Jersey, USA]

• U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6489533/dixie-lucile-willson: accessed 26 July 2023), memorial page for Dixie Lucile Willson (6 Aug 1890–1974), Find a Grave Memorial ID 6489533, citing Elmwood Saint Joseph Cemetery, Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, USA; Maintained by Neil Funkhouser (contributor 46781068).

• Bill Oates, Meredith Willson - America's Music Man, Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, . 2005, p. 5.

• Michael Gorman, Our Own Selves: More Meditations for Librarians, Chicago: American Library Association, 2005, p. 18.

See Also

• [5] Wikipedia entry
• [6] Book list
• [7] Amazon book list
• [8] Des Moines Register article, Iowan Dixie Willson, Meredith Willson's sister, was Mason City’s Music Woman and more.
• [9] DIXIE WILLSON: “HER ENTIRE LIFE HAS BEEN WRITING” on the Visit Mason City website
• [10] Dixie Willson IMDB profile
• [11] Wikipedia information about her novel, God Gave Me Twenty Cents, which became a silent film in 1926 and a live-sound film in 1932.
• [12] Lapham's Quarterly article, Into the Dusky, Rusky Forest (The extraordinary life and forgotten work of Dixie Willson.) Written by Willy Blackmore.