July 3, 1933 – November 28, 2021
Dorothy Hicks, nee Wall, died on November 28, 2021. Dorothy grew up in Lenoir, NC with ten brothers and sisters. She was the second eldest, and the oldest daughter, with a very large extended family of cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. She was a solid and reliable help to her mother in raising a large family.
After graduating from high school, she and her sister, Carrie, enlisted together in the Navy. Dorothy became a photographer. She was stationed in Seattle, WA, and lived the remainder of her life in the West, including California, Wyoming, Montana, Arizona and New Mexico.
Dorothy was married to James (“Jim”) Hicks, for 54 years until his death in 2010. She is survived by four children: Bradford Hicks (Susan), Susan Hicks, Wanda Cebulla, and Debra Harding (Thomas) and three grandchildren: Timothy Hicks, Alison Cebulla, and Brant Cebulla. She was preceded in death by two grandsons, Thomas and James Hicks, and six siblings.
Dorothy and Jim moved to Tyrone, NM and lived there for 30 years until her death. She thoroughly loved the warm weather (but hated the wind), and she was grateful for the kindness of her neighbors, many of whom she considered her family.
Her greatest joy in life was walking. She rarely in her lifetime missed a day, no matter the weather (at the age of 88, she was still an avid walker). Her delights included gardening (tending to her roses, lilacs, and fruit trees), her beloved Boston Terrier, Tiny, playing bridge, reading, gathering leaves on hikes, ice cream, Christmas and all of its festivity, polar bears and monkeys at the zoo, peanut brittle, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, good juicy tomatoes, the Art Institute of Chicago, a secret crush on James Garner and watching PBS.
She was an exacting seamstress who crafted many beautiful garments for her children and others, including sit-upons, costumes, prom dresses and a wedding gown. She was a gorgeous quilter and embroiderer. She was involved with the Girl Scouts (and was always, always prepared), and she was active in Eastern Star for over three decades.
She will be remembered for her generosity and boundless, selfless giving to her family, her great beauty, her lovely hands, her practicality and uncommon common sense, her determination, her practice of zero waste, her sweetness, her deadpan, dry wit, being smart-as-a-whip, being the champion of stretching a dollar, her love of the outdoors, and her perseverance.
In addition to her children and grandchildren, Dorothy is survived by three sisters and one brother.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Hearing Loss Association of America at https://www.hearingloss.org/make-an-impact/donate/hlaa-memorial-donation. A celebration of life service with Navy military honors will be held on August 26, 2022 at 11 a.m. at Ft. Bayard cemetery.