DIXIE LEE BOREL THORLA
October 20, 1939 - April 2, 2017
Funeral services for Dixie Lee Borel Thorla will be held Thursday, April 6, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. at Ibert’s Mortuary in Franklin. Burial will follow in the Franklin Cemetery. Pastor Jeff Morea of LifePoint Assembly of God Church in Jena, LA will conduct the services. A gathering of family and friends will be held Thursday at Ibert’s from 11:30 a.m. until time of service.
Dixie was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, daughter, and sister, who devoted herself to the care of her family. She was born on Weeks Island to the late Ernest Borel Sr. and the late Emily Savoie Borel, the eldest of three children. A self-taught musician, Dixie’s passion was playing the accordion, the piano, which she also played for her church, and the violin. When times became tough due to the downturn in the oil industry, Dixie went back to school in order to help support her family. In her mid-forties she graduated from college receiving her Associate’s Degree as a Registered Nurse. She went on to become the Charge Nurse of the Cardiac Unit at Forest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Miss., where she retired from. Following retirement, she worked briefly with Autistic children at Ernest Gallet Elementary School in Youngsville. In addition to music, she enjoyed painting and crocheting and loved spending time on the water. Dixie was called home to her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the age of 77 with her family by her side on Sunday, April 2, 2017, at the Franklin Health Care Center. She will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by all who knew and loved her.
Those she leaves to cherish her memory includes her son, Troy Thorla and his wife Karina; two grandsons, Trevor Anthony Thorla and his companion Shelby Passman and Ethan Thomas Thorla and his wife Kaitlynn; one great grandson, Anthony Cooper Thorla; one brother, Ernest Borel Jr. and his wife Margie; one sister, Alice Janet Miller; one brother-in-law, Ira Thorla Sr.; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas Wayne Thorla.
For those wishing to make contributions in Dixie’s name, the family asks that you please consider the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601, 1-800-272-3900, www.alz.org.
Family and friends may view the obituary and express their condolences online by visiting www.iberts.com.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Ibert’s Mortuary, Inc., 1007 Main Street, Franklin, LA 70538, (337) 828-5426.