The husband and father, and Navy Reserve member who served a tour of duty in Iraq, was remembered most for the young lives he shaped over his years as a coach and teacher. Hixon was the athletic director at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

“He was a friend, neighbor, my mentor, and we’re going to miss him,“ said a weeping Rebecca Allshouse, a former student of Hixon’s.

“A great veteran, somebody that fought for our country, somebody that loved his wife very much and somebody who was a wonderful father to two beautiful children,“ said family friend Lynn Henderson.

To help honor Chris Hixon