Obituary of James U. Dickson Jr.

Age 84, of Vadnais Heights Formerly of Falcon Heights Died peacefully from complications of Alzheimer's disease in the early morning of Wednesday, December 12, 2018 with his domestic partner, Dianne Gordon of St. Paul, by his side. Also survived by four children Tom Dickson of Helena, MT; Mary Linehan of Lindstrom, MN; Jay Dickson of Portland, OR; and Bridget O'Connor of Shoreview, MN; three grandchil-dren, three great-grandchil-dren, and by a brother, Gary Dickson of Dakota Dunes, SD. Preceded in death by three brothers and by his second wife, Ellen O' Connor Dickson. He was previously married to Cheryl Pashby Dickson of St. Paul. Jim Dickson was born in 1934 in Rapid City, SD, and spent most of his early life in Sturgis, SD. He was graduated from the University of South Dakota with a business degree, and worked with his father in forest products and construction businesses in Sturgis, and then was employed by forest products associations in Albuquerque, NM, and Portland, OR. In 1967, the Great Northern Railway in St. Paul hired him. For that organization (which eventually became the Burlington Northern Railroad), he held various executive positions in St. Paul, Fort Worth, TX, and Denver, CO as head of market research and economic services, lobbyist, and speechwriter. Having obtained a master's degree in communication from the University of Denver, after early retirement he moved back to the Twin Cities to teach speech and writing for ten years to graduate students at St. Mary's and Hamline Universities. During that time, he was successful as a freelance writer and business communication consultant. He also served two terms on the Minnesota Business Partnership board, and was an accomplished potter. His family requests that in lieu of flowers donations be given to Giving Voice, the Twin Cities organization for choruses for people living with dementia and their loved ones, at givingvoice.org/donate. There will be a memorial service at the Bullard Rainforest Auditorium at the Como Park Conservatory in Saint Paul, on Sunday, December 30th, starting at 11:00am.