Obituaries : Edna Dixie Knox; Businesswoman, Ojai Resident

Edna Dixie Knox, a longtime Ojai resident and local business owner, died Thursday after a short illness. She was 79.

Knox and her late husband, William, ran Knox Men’s Wear store on North Ojai Avenue for 10 years before retiring in 1978.

Knox, who was born in Johnson City, Ill., spent most of her youth in the state, living both in Peoria and Springfield.

She married William Knox in the late 1930s, and he was sent to Europe to fight in World War II shortly afterward. During the war, Knox took a job as a secretary at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.

When William returned in 1946, the couple settled in Springfield and began raising two sons.

After living in several towns throughout the state, the couple moved to Santa Ana in 1962.

When William Knox retired in 1968, the couple moved to Ojai and opened Knox Men’s Wear.

Edna Knox continued to run the store after her husband died in 1973.

Books were a passion for Knox, who belonged to the Ojai Book Club.

“She was very interested in literature,” said her son, William. “She loved that. It was her big recreation.”

Knox was also active in St. Thomas Aquinas Church, where she was a member of the parish.

She is survived by a son, William Michael Jr. of Ventura, and five grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Joseph P. Reardon Funeral Chapel in Ventura. Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery in Springfield.