Katie and Keith Cole

Meet Midtowners Katie and Keith Cole. From Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Katie is a University of Tennessee graduate, and spent most of her career as a successful personal financial advisor. Now retired, she enjoys gardening, serves on the board of Theater Memphis, and is an Elder and Trustee at Idlewild Presbyterian Church. Keith hails from Hayti, Missouri and is an Arkansas State University graduate. He joined the management training program at Goldsmith’s in Memphis, was president of a Blockbuster franchise group operating in the Mid-South, and is now Executive Director of the Wolf River Conservancy.

What first interested you in the Dixon?

Katie: I did not know that the Dixon began as a private home and garden. I studied French, so my first impression was my delight with the collections. I introduced Keith to the Dixon at Symphony in the Gardens. Now the Dixon is our first stop with out of town guests. I enjoy Munch and Learn, the Memphis Flower Show, and the floral design programs. We both loved the Jun Kaneko show.

In your Dixon experiences, have there been any surprises, either negative or positive?

Until we visited, we had no idea that the Dixon had a dual focus of art and gardens. That synergy makes the Dixon unique in Memphis.

What museum experiences have you enjoyed in your travels that could benefit the Dixon?

We have toured museums around the world and biked the Romantic Danube. Many museums make some of their works of art accessible online, which can be a sound future enhancement or the Dixon. Although we have seen many exceptional works of art in our international travels, it is exciting that we can view masterworks in Memphis at the Dixon. We trust the Dixon will continue to provide the high-quality lecture series and be an online resource for the visual arts, all of which we thoroughly enjoy.

Katie, if you could be Director of the Dixon for one day, what would you seek to accomplish?

I support a transition from our pandemic status seamlessly so that when we return to a more normal way of life, the virtual programs will ensure a connection with people of all circumstances and across the country. I am confident that this plan is already in place to be utilized at the appropriate time.

What inspired you to make a provision for the Dixon in your estate plan?

Culture has brought so much to our lives and how we live them that we wanted to help maintain all that we have enjoyed. The Dixon’s importance to the community inspired us to support it in perpetuity as the museum and gardens set a high standard of excellence in both social and educational programming. Our gift is in gratitude for all that the Dixon has given to us.

Keith, please take a moment to reflect on the future Dixon. What are your hopes for the museum and gardens and its programs?

As I see it, with rising poverty and the associated ills that follow such as crime, poor physical and mental health conditions, economic insecurity is our community’s greatest challenge. The Dixon, with its beautiful galleries, gardens, and collections, can help people, especially children, see a different world and how art can transport them to that world. The Dixon is an inspiration for everyone. Our civic leaders should be reminded that through the generosity of Margaret and Hugo Dixon and their philanthropic efforts, we have this incredible community asset that should be treasured and sustained for future generations.

I hope the Dixon will continue to offer the robust programs—both social and educational—that serve all ages.

Your planned gift establishes your legacy. Based on your general philanthropy, do you have a message to share with our members, supporters, and leaders?

Think about this. Investigate and study the options for making your own planned gift, see how simple it is to establish one, and learn how your legacy can live on through the Dixon. There is a lot of helpful information on the Dixon website. Every gift, no matter the size, is important.

Thank you, Katie and Keith, for your insightful responses to our questions and for including the Dixon in your estate plan. To discover how you can help to sustain the future Dixon with an estate gift and join the Dixon Legacy Society, please contact the Office of Planned Giving at (901) 312-1243 or sjohnson@dixon.org.