You may not have known her.

[Guest guest]

The following is an obit of an LP in Cincinnati, Ohio. The local community

could never get her to come to any of our meeting, however we worked with her on

several occasions concerning various projects. I thought the community should

note her passing.

Dixie Harmon, a long-time advocate for the disabled

Dixie Harmon, an outspoken advocate for the rights of those with disabilities,

died Wednesday.

Ms. Harmon, made a quadriplegic by a swimming accident when she was 12, fought

vehemently for housing and transportation opportunities for Greater

Cincinnatians with disabilities.

''She was instrumental in making life better,'' said Debbie Dase, a close friend

from Sycamor e Township. ''She was one of our biggest advocates here in

Cincinnati.''

Ms. Harmon fought to get wheelchair lifts on Metro buses and curb cuts, the

diagonal slopes which allow wheelchairs access to sidewalks from the street, in

city and suburban neighborhoods.

She even protested lack of disability access by chaining herself to buses in

Cincinnati and once in San Francisco and by blocking the entrance to Northgate

Mall.

''For being so little, she was dynamite,'' Ms. Dase said.

''Dixie was my friend for 17 years. She taught me how to be an advocate,'' said

Ms. Dase, who rides in a scooter. ''When I first became disabled I didn't know

anything.''

Ms. Harmon, 63, most recently of Blue Ash, was a case manager at United Cerebral

Palsy of Greater Cincinnati for the past two years, helping those with

disabilities find housing and wheelchairs. For 17 years previously, she did

similar work as director of advocacy for Independe nt Living Options.

In 1998, Ms. Harmon was named to the Kentucky Developmental Disabilities

Council. She was named a ''Hometown Hero'' in 1995 as a member of the Cincinnati

Human Relations Commission.

She was past president of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition of People with

Disabilities and helped the Archdiocese of Cincinnati adapt churches for

handicap access.

Her struggles will benefit the lives of future generations, Ms. Dase said.

''She's touching their lives every time they go up a sidewalk or get on a

lift,'' she said.

Survivors include a sister, Francelyn Sieverman, of Bellevue, Ky., two nieces

and a nephew.

Mass: 7 p.m. Monday at St. Xavier Church, downtown. Memorial reception

following. Memorials: United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Cincinnati, 3601 Victory

Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45229-9960. Arrangements by Schaefer & Busby Funeral

Home.