John Hicks
John F. Hicks
1939 ~ 2019
Captain John Hicks, age 79, passed away in Redmond, WA on Sunday, May 12, 2019 after a long illness. John was born September 23, 1939 in Springfield, MO to Charles Eugene Hicks and Mildred (Heald) McHone. John was the eldest of two children – his sister Donna was 4 years younger.
John graduated from Ames High School in 1957 and from Iowa State University in 1963 with a degree in geology. John always loved aviation and flight. He took flying lessons as soon as he was old enough, and he made his first solo flight when he was still a teenager. While studying at Iowa State John completed the Army ROTC program, after graduation he was called to active duty and pilot training at the US Army Aviation School at Fort Rucker, AL. His Army active duty included a tour in Vietnam flying the Cessna L-19E "Bird Dog" as a Forward Air Controller.