From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)
Dixon, LaVerne Fellows
(born: 1925 - died: 2008) In January of 1978, LaVerne F. Dixon became the first African American female hired as a sheriff's deputy in Henderson, KY. She wore badge 414. She is included in a photograph of Sheriff Charlie West and his deputies; the photograph hangs on the wall in the Henderson County Courthouse. She had also served as a voting precinct captain in Henderson. Her other profession was owner and operator of LaVerne's Beauty Shop in Henderson, KY. She received her cosmetology license from West Kentucky Barber and Beauty School in Paducah, KY. LaVerne F. Dixon was also a pianist for 37 years at St. Paul Baptist Church in Corydon, KY; she had served as the church clerk and a musician at Greater Norris Baptist Church in Henderson; and she had been a caseworker at the Kentucky Cabinet for Families and Children. LaVerne F. Dixon was born April 11, 1925, in Chicago, IL, and the family later moved to Corydon, KY. Laverne F. Dixon was a graduate of the segregated Douglas High School in Henderson, and she served as secretary of her class in 1942 [source: U.S., School Yearbooks in Ancestry]. LaVerne F. Dixon died July 15, 2008 in Evansville, IN. She is buried in the United Brothers of Fellowship Cemetery in Corydon, KY. She was the daughter of James L. Fellows and Alma V. Cole Fellows, and the wife of William E. Dixon. For more information see LaVerne Fellows Dixon at Find A Grave.*This entry was submitted by Juanita L. White. Sources: LaVerne Dixon's personal file and photograph at Henderson County Courthouse; Henderson, KY Gleaner newspaper - obit [July 20, 2008] accessed July 17, 2017; and LaVerne's son, William L. Dixon, Director of the Cultural Diversity Department at Henderson Community College in Kentucky.