Theodore Dixon. Photo by Bob Panza.

By Susan Schwartz

Theodore “Theo” Dixon, the Mayor of West 71st Street, passed away peacefully in his sleep early Thursday, November 22, 2025, at the age of 100.

West 71st Street Block Association founder and co-leader Katina Ellison shared the sad news in an email last week, writing “Theo was widely known and beloved in our neighborhood, a constant sunny and loving presence, greeting everyone, animals and humans alike, on West 71st Street and outside Muffins Café. He was the oldest and most loyal member of the West 71st Street Block Association, even accompanying us to community board and police council meetings to express our concerns and ideas for the neighborhood. There will be a memorial in the spring.”

Life wasn’t always easy for Dixon. He was born in New York City on August 5, 1925, at New York Hospital, the son of a Cherokee Indian mother and African-American father. He grew up in Virginia, attending Colonial Williamsburg Bruton Heights Education Center. After graduation, he volunteered to serve in the Navy in 1942. “You got to help your country. I gave it my all,” he previously explained to West Side Rag.

Dixon was honorably discharged after three years in active combat in the Pacific Theater, which left him with PTSD. It was also his first experience with racism.

Theo moved from Hell’s Kitchen to Hargrave House on West 71st Street in 2004 and almost immediately became a well-known fixture. His favorite spot in the neighborhood was in front of Muffins Café on Columbus Avenue, where he was usually decked out in bright colors, with a wool cap and a huge smile. He made sure to reach out to the local children on their way to and from school, telling them we were “depending on them” and that they mattered, with a warm smile. He greeted everyone else with an inspiring, jaunty “Keep love alive!”

Michelle Hill asked Theo about his life for a WSR article on December 8, 2013, when he was “only 88”, asking him what he does. Theo replied “I am here to elevate the community. I want to talk to people, not on a computer but in person. I watch everyone going to work and school. This is my spot on this bench (in front of the Muffin Shop). I wish everyone a good day, and make people smile. All of these children, they are my children. They are our future. I am part of the 71st Block Association. You know… I stay politically active too, I am the unofficial major of the block. I was New Yorker of the Week in August on NY1.”

Theo was not only adored by his neighbors, but received many official honors. On his 100th birthday, he received proclamations from New York State Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal and New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, declaring August 25th “Theodore Dixon Appreciation Day”.

The year before, Dixon was inducted into the New York State Senate’s Veteran’s Hall of Fame in a ceremony at St. Paul and Grace Church on West 71st Street.

“Theo Dixon was not only the mayor of West 71st Street – he was the beating heart and soul of that block for decades,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal. “I had the extraordinary privilege of spending time with Theo over the years, and I am grateful that I had the chance to honor him with a New York State proclamation for his 100th birthday.

“Theo embodied the very best of New York; he was always quick with a smile, a joke, an inspirational word. One’s day simply brightened when you saw him, a devoted patriot, in his favorite spot on Columbus and West 71st Street. I, along with his neighbors and friends, will greatly miss his positivity, his grace and his presence. May his memory be a blessing.”

Read More: The Upper West Side’s Mayor Theodore Dixon Turns 100 Years Old

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