John Herbert Hicks Sr. was born on December 18, 1932, and passed from this life on Monday, October 10, 2016. He died at home after a long and courageous battle with cancer, surrounded by his family.
John was born in Marietta, Georgia, to Charley Herbert Hicks and Flora Linda Berry Hicks, and was the eighth of nine children. His father was an insurance salesman, and his mother was a homemaker. As a child, John was extremely bright and even skipped the second grade in school, despite being absent for much of his first grade year due to a bout with rheumatic fever. His imagination also led him to get into a fair amount of mischief with his brothers, and in his later years John enjoyed telling tales of their exploits while growing up in Georgia. He even jokingly said that his parents were on a first-name basis with the truancy officer at his school. As necessitated being a part of a large family, John went to work at an early age, even selling Coca-colas at the Marietta City Park and selling popcorn at the Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport when he was fourteen. As a teenager, John excelled locally as an amateur boxer.
Like many other men of his age, John felt a duty to serve his country. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1952, serving on the USS Prairie during the Korean Conflict. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in February of 1956, and returned home to Marietta.
John met the love of his life, Joyce Annette Weaver, while on a date at a Marietta skating rink. They were married at his parents’ home and celebrated 57 years of marriage before her passing in July 2012.
John had a long and successful career in the insurance industry. John began his career in the insurance business as a field underwriter for the Continental Fidelity and Casualty Insurance Company in Birmingham, Alabama, and served in that capacity for ten years. He then moved to the Shoals area, to partner with K.C. Darby in his real estate and insurance company. This endeavor became Darby-Hicks and Associates, then Hicks-Parker and Associates, and eventually Hicks and Associates. He retired in 2012 after over 50 years in the insurance business.
John was active for many years in Masonry, and was a 33-degree Scottish Rite Mason. He was a member of the Cahaba Shrine and a member of the Florence York Rite Bodies. He was a Charter Member of the Shoals Valley Scottish Rite. He was a member and Past Master of the Sheffield Lodge, a Past Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge of Alabama, and served as the Vice Chairman of the Square & Compasses Foundation. He was a Past Governor of the Monte Santo York Rite College, and was an Associate Regent of York Rite Sovereign College of North America. He was the Past Puissant Sovereign of Red Cross of Constantine. He was a member of the Order of the Silver Trowel, of the Council of the Anointed High Priests, of the Chapter of Knight Crusader of the Cross, of the Vulcan Council of Knight Masons, of Knights of York Cross of Honor, and a Past Personal Representative of the Sovereign Grand Inspector General of the Alabama Scottish Rite. Before his death, he was the recipient of the Order of the Purple Cross, the highest honor conferred on a member of the York Rite College of North America.
John was active in numerous civic organizations in the Shoals area over the years. He was a past President of the Florence Elks Lodge. He was a long-time member of the Florence Exchange Club. He served on the Board of Directors at the YMCA of the Shoals for several years, and, along with several other YMCA board members, helped to build Camp Hillcrest. John also served on the Board of Directors of the North Alabama State Fair for over 30 years, and was proud of the non-profit work that they did. Some of his happiest times were taking his grandchildren to the fair and enjoying it with them.
John was an extremely intelligent and gifted man. He loved the great outdoors, and enjoyed numerous hunting trips over the years with family and friends to hunting camps in South Alabama and out west to Wyoming. He was proficient in computer programming, and wrote computer programs as one of his hobbies. In his later years, the joy and light of his life was spending time with his grandchildren. He was a man of utmost integrity and outstanding moral character. He always thought of the needs of others before his own, and often provided anonymously to those in need. He loved to carry on a conversation with people, and was gifted in telling a story in just the right way. He always conducted himself with the utmost decorum and decency. He was a man of rare caliber that will be sorely missed.
John was preceded in death by his parents, Charley and Flora Linda Hicks, and his wife, Joyce Annette Weaver Hicks. He was also preceded in death by all eight of his brothers and sisters. He is survived by his son, John Herbert Hicks Jr. and daughter-in-law Sarah Kathleen Hicks. He is also survived by his daughter, Kristi Sockwell, and son-in-law Stacy Sockwell. He lives on in his grandchildren, Lily Catherine Hicks, Emma Clayton Hicks and Tillman Reid Sockwell. He is also survived by his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Janice and David Long, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held at Saint James United Methodist Church in Florence, Alabama, from 10 a.m. until noon on Thursday, October 13, 2016, with the funeral service immediately following. Burial will be at Greenview cemetery. Greenview Funeral Home is assisting the family.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”
