Extreme Educator

From building a school to competing in ultra-marathons, this Alaska retiree
isn’t slowing down any time soon.

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After serving in two noble professions—firefighting and teaching—what do you do in retirement? Jerry Dixon, a former smokejumper who parachuted in to fight forest fires and a teacher of gifted students in Alaska, learned about a village in Afghanistan named Kak Ear Tak Jar. The Taliban had forced village residents to flee, and when they returned, there was no school to educate the village’s 150 children. Dixon decided to help build one, a mission that began by fundraising $18,000 and ended with the school’s November 2004 completion. “The school was built using local labor and materials, so the dollars went a much longer way,” Dixon, of NEA-Alaska/Retired, says.

The school is one of many projects that Dixon is working on. He has established 10 other endowments, including a philosophy lecturer position at his alma mater, the University of Utah. “I get a good idea, put up some money, and get some really smart people to put money in as well,” he says.

He’s also pursuing his passion for sports, ranging from skiing to ultra-marathons—races longer than 26 miles, frequently over harsh terrain. In 2004, he was the first person in 85 years to go from Seward, Alaska, to Yukon, Canada, in an ultra-marathon.

Dixon has no intention of slowing down. “I just keep living my dreams,” he says. “That keeps me going.”

—MISHRI SOMESHWAR