Florida citrus pioneer dies at 87

When Bill Mixon built a new home in 2007, he could have constructed it anywhere.

Instead, he planted himself in the place he loved most, among the citrus groves at Mixon Fruit Farms.

Mixon, patriarch of the family farm, died Feb. 5 at age 87 after suffering a heart attack Feb. 3, while planting trees at the farm.

“Looking out the window and seeing what I’ve been a part of my whole life is very rewarding,” Bill Mixon told the East County Observer in a 2012 interview in his home. “I never tire of it. I still work every day, several hours in the grove or out around the packing house. It’s my life. I love being a farmer. I love seeing things grow.”

A celebration of life service will be held at 3 p.m. Feb. 12, at Manatee United Methodist Church, 315 15th St. E., Bradenton. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Diabetes Association.

His son, Dean, who purchased Mixon Fruit Farms with his wife, Janet, in 2006, said he would test out new hires by pairing them with his dad. 

“We’d find out if they were a good workers,” he said with a chuckle. “He could outwork anybody.”

Janet agreed, saying her father-in-law was happiest singing hymns while riding his tractor in the grove. He said doing so helped the trees grow. 

“If we couldn’t find a tractor, he usually had it,” she said. “He did what he loved.”

Friends and family described Mixon as loving, honest, gentle, giving and a man of faith who had three loves, God, his family and farming.

He was a lifelong member of Manatee United Methodist Church and met his late wife, Mary, when he was 4. He secured her love by sharing sticks of Juicy Fruit gum when they were children.

The couple built Mixon from a fruit stand into a packinghouse operation with a gift store, and forged the way in the citrus gift shipping industry. Bill Mixon was director and past president of the Manatee County Farm Bureau, a board member of Florida Citrus Mutual and founding member of the Florida Gift Fruit Shippers Association.

Although Bill Mixon retired in 2006, he continued working the groves, about 40 hours a week, and stayed current on issues affecting the citrus industry, Dean Mixon said. 

“He was happiest outside,” 30-year employee and store manager Ann Dennon said. “He loved to be on his tractor wearing his favorite straw hat. That’s when he was happiest, when he was digging in the dirt.”

Born May 26, 1928, in Bradenton, Bill Mixon was a third generation Floridian, who was 11 when his parents, Willie and Rosa Mixon, started Mixon Fruit Farms in 1939. He bought his first citrus grove age the age of 16. Bill Mixon is survived by his sons Don (Kathy) Mixon, of Saluda, N.C., and Dean (Janet) Mixon, of Anna Maria; five grandchildren and four great grandchildren.