Mr. Hicks joined the Army on May 10, 1944, at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, when he was 18. After basic and advanced training, he became a member of the 66th Black Panther Infantry Division. On Nov. 11, 1944, his division boarded a ship at Camp Shanks, N.Y., and headed to England. Two days out of England a lot of action took place. On Christmas Eve 1944, he boarded a ship to Cherbourg, France. They dropped anchor in the English Channel and had to stay there until New Year’s Eve with only their food rations to eat, due to German submarines. They didn’t bring much food, since the trip to Cherbourg was to have been a short one. He stayed in France until President Truman dropped the atomic bomb on Japan. From France, he was sent to Austria, where he guarded a prison camp until his tour of duty was completed. His company liberated a concentration camp in Germany. He returned to Sedalia on June 26, 1946, with a combat infantry badge, a Bronze Star and the Good Conduct Medal.
He owned Hick’s Cabinet Shop. He was a member of VFW Post 2591 and Moose Lodge 1494.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by two sons, including Steven A. Hicks, and his wife, Michele, of Sedalia; a daughter, Carol J. Rugen, of Sedalia; five grandchildren; two great grandchildren; a brother, Ralph Buddy Hicks, and his wife, Lorene, of Odessa; and several nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by three brothers and a sister.
Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. Monday, Dec. 22, 2008, at Heckart Funeral Home, with the Rev. Kenny Cripe officiating.
Pallbearers will be members of the U.S. Army Honor Guard.
Honorary pallbearers will be Mike and Nancy Gehlken, Glen and Beverly Bottom, Price Jackson, Master Bryan Schlotterbeck, Dale and Liz Yelton, Carolyn Rhoads, Dwight Miller, Richard Cox, and Berdina Zink.
Burial will be in Pleasant Hill Cemetery, with military rites by the U.S. Army.
The family will receive friends from 9:30 a.m. until service time Monday at Heckart Funeral Home.
Memorial contributions are suggested to Bothwell Hospice or Bothwell Cancer Center.
Jimmie A. Hicks, 82, of Sedalia, died Thursday evening, Dec. 18, 2008, at his home.
He was born Feb. 23, 1926, in Chowchilla, Calif., a son of Ralph and Bessie Barber Hicks. On June 10, 1966, in Sedalia, he was married to Evelyn Rice, who survives of the home.
