Rev. Millard Timothy “Tim” Hixson

Rev. Millard Timothy “Tim” Hixson, age 72 of Toccoa entered into the presence of his Lord on Thursday, February 23, 2023.

Tim was born in Roanoke, Virginia to Rev. Cecil and Betty Hixson on Veteran’s Day, 1950. He was named Millard Timothy Hixson for his Uncle Millard who died in World War II.  He had two sisters and two brothers.   As a preschooler, one night Tim heard emergency sirens wailing, and being frightened, ran to his mother.  She held him close and asked him if he would like to open his heart´s door to Jesus so he would not ever have to be afraid again, because Jesus would always be with him. That night, Tim became a new creature in Christ.

During his childhood, his dad pastored Alliance churches in Lumberton, NC, Biloxi, Mississippi, Pensacola, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama. Early on, Tim knew that God was calling him to be a pastor somewhere in the world, so he applied to Toccoa Falls College where he majored in Bible Theology.  There he met Mary Hall, and in 1973 they were married and moved to DeLand, Florida where he became an assistant pastor for two years. He was ordained to the ministry on August 18, 1974.  After completing intercultural studies at Alliance Theological Seminary in Nyack, New York, the Hixsons were assigned to ministry in Peru. They studied spoken and written Spanish for one year at the Spanish Language Institute in San Jose, Costa Rica. In 1975, they arrived in Lima and began ministry in the central Andean city of Huánuco. During their 22 years of ministry in Peru, they worked in churches, camps, seminaries, and church planting. Tim served churches in Iquitos, Arequipa, and Lima. Their daughters, Amy and Melody, grew up in Peru and attended bilingual schools in Ecuador and Peru.

The Hixsons lived in Peru during the Shining Path terrorist attacks of the 1990’s. Once, a car bomb exploded just a block from their home, killing several bystanders. Although nearly every window in the neighborhood was shattered by the blast, the upstairs windows in the rooms where their daughters were sleeping remained intact. This was not the first, nor the last time that God protected them from physical danger while living in Peru.

In 1997, the Hixsons returned to Georgia to care for Mary´s elderly father.  During that time, Tim earned an Ed.D. Degree in Adult Education (UGA) and served as a Marketplace Chaplain at Pilgrim’s Pride and Gainesville Mechanical. For 10 years, he pastored a Spanish-speaking congregation in Cornelia where he preached weekly and offered English classes and other services to the immigrant community. Until his retirement in 2014, he recruited and transported Toccoa Falls College cross-cultural ministry students to volunteer as English tutors and student ministry workers at Iglesia Encuentro Con Dios/Misión San Pablo. Following a diagnosis of Parkinson´s disease and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Tim retired from active ministry but continued to serve with Mary in music ministry, playing his euphonium, and preaching/teaching in several northeast Georgia churches.

Survivors include his wife, Mary Hall Hixson of the home; two daughters and sons-in-law, Amy and Michael Dauplaise of Toccoa and Melody and Manny Aparaschivei of Buford, Georgia; fourth grandchildren and three great-grandchildren; brother and sister-in-law, Tom and Yvonne Hixson; sisters and brother-in-law, Julia Hixson and Celia and Tom Scarborough; several nieces and one nephew.  He was preceded in death his parents, Cecil and Betty Hixson, by a brother, Paul Hixson and by a great-niece, Christen Scarborough.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held Saturday, March 11, 2023, 2 o’clock p.m. at the First Baptist Church Toccoa with The Reverend David Jones, The Reverend Joey Whitlock, Pastor Tim Morgan, The Reverend Tom Scarborough and The Reverend George Champion officiating.

In lieu flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to Christian Missions through websites such as: www.imb.org and www.cmalliance.org and non-profits such as www.lls.org and www.parkinson.org dedicated to the fight against leukemia, lymphoma and Parkinson’s disease.

Acree-Davis Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of the arrangements for Rev. Millard Timothy “Tim” Hixson.