Steven Dixon Obituary

DIXON, Steven Steven Lee Dixon was born May 18, 1947 in Macomb, IL. He attended the USAFE High School in England, graduating in 1965. After receiving a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Illinois in 1969, he entered the Marine Corps' OCS in Quantico, VA and received an honorable discharge. Immediately following, he was hired by Caterpillar to design jet turbine engines. Steve worked for IBM while earning his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and subsequently relocated to IBM's Headquarters in White Plains, NY. In 1985, Steve joined LaSalle Partners in Manhattan to launch their Corporate Real Estate Advisory Practice, assisting Fortune 500 companies. He was a key real estate advisor in the merger between Chemical Bank and Chase Manhattan Bank and developed major office towers including the New York Commodities Exchange, and leased major office buildings in the US and Europe. In 1991, he arranged the country's largest transaction with the sale of the AT&T North American Headquarters at 550 Madison Avenue to Sony Corporation. The following year, Steve was recruited by Edward S. Gordon Company as Executive Managing Director for their National Accounts Real Estate Group. In 1994, Steve and key associates formed Commonwealth Advisors in Washington, DC, providing strategic expertise for corporate and institutional clients. In 1998, he joined Regus Business Centers as Director of the North American Properties where he was honored with the RGM Award for Outstanding Contribution to the US. In 2002, while President of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of CoreNet Global Corporate Real Estate Network, he was honored for outstanding leadership by his peers. Since moving to Charleston he was working as a consultant to the McAlister Group developing Maritime at Kiawah Island, SC, a luxury condominium community. An avid sailor, Steve cruised the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Eastern and Pacific seaboards and the Turkish Coast. He was proud to captain a vessel in the 150th Anniversary Regatta Jubilee for the Americas Cup in England in 2001. He enjoyed memberships at the Metropolitan Club of Washington DC, the New York Yacht Club, serving on their membership committee, he assisted in the fundraising to purchase Harbour Court in Newport, RI; and the St. Francis Yacht Club of San Francisco. He competed in several triathlons, the NYC Marathon, enjoyed scuba diving in the Caribbean and the Great Barrier Reef, skiing the slopes of Europe, Canada and the US. His passion and zest for life, learning and adventure is legendary. Steve married Elizabeth Dyer in 1994. They lived in Georgetown, DC where their four children were born. For many years Steve was a volunteer and advocate for the Habitat for Humanity. He and Elizabeth volunteered with the Salvation Army's Grate Patrol in our nation's capital serving meals to the homeless and to recovering drug and alcohol addicts. The family moved to Charleston in 2003. Steve was a parishioner of St. Philip's Church and a member of the Board of the American College of the Building Arts. Of all Steve's accomplishments, he was most proud of the time spent traveling the world with his beloved wife and children. Steve is survived by his wife Elizabeth, a son and three daughters; his parents Colonel Frank and Mrs. Edith Dixon of Overland Park, KS; brother, sister-in-law and two nieces of Bloomington, IL. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to St. Philip's Children's Choir, 142 Church Street, Charleston, SC 29401; Friends' of the Dixons Scholarship Fund, c/o The Bank of South Carolina, 256 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29401; or the Hollings Infusion Center, c/o HCC Volunteer Services, P.O. Box 250957, Charleston, SC 29425. Visit our guestbook at www.charleston.net/deaths.