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By Bill Bartleman bbartleman@paducahsun.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Park dedication: tDocu Hicks stands in Lions Park in Lone Oak before its
dedication in 1996.Dr. J. Freeland "Doc" Hicks' dedication to the work and programs of the
Lions Club perhaps was exceeded only by his love and dedication for the
Lone Oak community where he lived most of his life. Hicks, 82, died at 6:45
a.m. Tuesday at Superior Care Home."He was involved in so many things it is hard to give him credit for all
that he did," said McCracken County Judge-Executive Danny Orazine. "Lone
Oak has always been ahead of its time a very progressive community. It
isn't because of what government has done. It is because of what people
like Doc Hicks and the Lions Club have done."Ned Buchanan, a longtime friend of Hicks who worked with him on many civic
projects, said, "Lone Oak would not be half the community it is today
without him."Orazine said Hicks' loyalty extended beyond Lone Oak. "Whenever we had a
controversy or something going on in the community, he was one of those who
always stopped in to give me his advice, which I always appreciated,"
Orazine said. "He'll really be missed."Hicks was widely known for an elaborate Christmas light display that
attracted thousands of visitors each year at his home on Gum Springs Road.
He started the display in 1971 and expanded each year until it became one
of the largest in western Kentucky and southern Illinois. He used the light
show to help charities by encouraging visitors to donate canned goods and
cash as they passed his house.In 1996, wearied by the mounting labors of putting up the display year
after year, he discontinued his show and donated the display to the city of
Paducah. Now his display is part of an even larger display each holiday
season in Noble Park. The concept is still used to raise food and money for
the needy.Hicks was dedicated to the work of the Lone Oak Lions Club, of which he was
a charter member in 1948. He held every office in the club, including
serving for 23 years as chairman of the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Show,
one of the most successful and popular activities of any civic group in the
region."His work with the Lions Club was far and above what most people put into a
civic organization," said state Sen. Bob Leeper, a former president of the
club."He brought in 70 members to our club and helped to start many other clubs
in the area," Leeper said. "It would be inspiring for anyone to achieve
even a fraction of what he achieved. He was dedicated to the charities and
work of the Lions Club, and it brought him great satisfaction."Hicks helped organize Lions clubs in Concord, Hendron, Bardwell, La Center
and Reidland.On Dec. 8, 1986, he was named a Melvin Jones Fellow, the highest award
offered by Lions Clubs International. He also is in the Kentucky Lions Hall
of FameThrough Lions, he led many efforts to improve the community, including
helping to form a water district, a sewer district, a volunteer fire
department and the four-laning of U.S. 45 from Lone Oak to Paducah.It was also through his efforts beginning in 1956 that a community park was
established in Lone Oak. Hicks volunteered hundreds of hours to develop and
expand the 25-acre tract that now features the Lions Community Building,
baseball fields, tennis courts, and picnic shelters. In a 1996 ceremony, it
became Doc Hicks Park.Hicks also worked on projects to help youth, including serving as a Boy
Scout master and creating a center where teen-agers could socialize.He also worked closely with Lone Oak High School and, in 1953, donated a
public address system that was used in the gymnasium.He was recognized for his work in several Paducah Sun-Democrat (now The
Paducah Sun) newspaper columns written by the late Bill Powell."Dr. Freeland Hicks of Lone Oak is a remarkable civic worker," Powell wrote
in 1961. "He works for Lone Oak all the time. He never lets up; he works on
his lunch hour, he works after his office closes and he spends money and
loses business because of the work he's doing."In 1963, Powell said "Hicks is one of those unusual people who works as
hard for his community as he does for himself ... he has been the leader or
among the leaders in 100 percent of the truly community-minded projects in
the Lone Oak area for the past 10 years."Hicks also was involved in promoting tourism in the community and was a
longtime member of the Paducah Ambassadors also known as the Red Coats.
The group greets visitors and members serve as hosts and tour guides.Delphine Operle, executive director of the Paducah-McCracken County
Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Hicks played a special role by
dressing in a white or black suit and portraying a Kentucky Colonel."He was an invaluable asset to the Ambassador program," Operle said. "He
always met visitors and welcomed them as Col. Doc Hicks. Many visitors
enjoyed taking a picture with him. He did that for many years and was
always dependable."Hicks also served as vice chairman of the Carson Park Board from the time
it was organized in 1984 until his death. "He was a very active board
member, and the only meeting he ever missed was last month when he was
ill," said Tom Emerson, the board chairman.Emerson said many improvements have been made to the park over the past 16
years. "We weren't looking for recognition," Emerson said. "The main thing
we wanted to do was improve the looks of Carson Park to make it acceptable
to the neighbors and the community. Doc Hicks played a major role in
accomplishing that. He'll really be missed."Hicks was born in Paducah and his family moved to Lone Oak when he was
four. At Lone Oak High School, he was elected president of the freshman,
sophomore, junior and senior classes. He also sang in the choir, played in
the band and was on the basketball team. Before graduating in 1938, he was
elected the most popular boy in the school.He attended Texas Chiropractic College where he served for two years as
president of the Delta Sigma Chi fraternity. In college, he became the
second graduate in the school's history to be awarded a plaque for
"outstanding collegiate activity, achievement and personal integrity."He returned to Lone Oak and worked as a chiropractor for 18 years before
ending his practice he disliked being confined to an office. He then
worked for the Jefferson Distributing Co. of Louisville with routes in
McCracken and Fulton counties.He served in the Army Medical Corps during World War II, and was a member
of Lone Oak Church of Christ.He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Evelyn Overby Hicks; a son, Jimmy
Hicks of Lone Oak; a daughter, Teresa Hicks Stone of Lone Oak; a sister,
Margie Cooper of Lone Oak; three grandsons, Chris Hicks and Josh Hicks of
Lone Oak, and Scott Stone of Sarasota, Fla, and two great-grandchildren.He was preceded in death by a brother and a sister., Willard Hicks, and a
sister, Linda Sue Hicks. His parents were Ed and Deatrice Harper Hicks.Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Lone Oak Church of Christ with Mike
Tanaro, Paul Phelps and Jamie Boone officiating. Burial will be in Woodlawn
Memorial Gardens.Expressions of sympathy should take the form of donations to the Lone Oak
Church of Christ, the Lone Oak Lions Club or the Lourdes hospital hospice
program.Friends may call at Lone Oak Funeral Home from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday or at
the church after 10 a.m. Friday.
Date of birth added by Joe L. Goode jgoode2@bellsouth.net.
All family information added by Joe L. Goode jgoode2@bellsouth.net.From: "Joe Goode" <joeg@cghinsurance.com>
To: <bemcbee@aaahawk.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2003 10:28 AM
Subject: Janet Canter GoodeHi Bobby,
We have exchanged emails before about the Canter's in Graves County. I
am unsure if I notified you that Janet Canter Goode died on March 11,
2003 in Taylorsville, KY. She was the youngest daughter of Thadius St.
Clare Canter of Lynnville. She donated her boty to the University of
Louisville School of Medicine and we were recently notified that her
cremated remains wer ready for pickup. My brothers and sisters will be
taking them back down to Lynnville for their final resting. I am trying
to locate the grave site of my grandmother so that they can be placed
close to her, but as my grandmother died when I was very young (under 9)
I can only guess that she was buried in Lynnville Cemetary. Assuming I
can find the grave site of her or my grandfather (who supposidely is in
a vault).Anyway, I just wanted to pass on the information so you could keep up with
the geneology of that line....Hope things are going well for you.Joe Goode
Jgoode2@bellsouth.net