Frederick Clinton Hickman Jr., 92, of Caldwell, ID passed peacefully in his home from Parkinson’s complications in the early morning hours of September 30, 2022 attended by his wife Roberta Hickman and his daughter Jolene Hickman.
Viewing will be held at Alsip and Persons Funeral Chapel, 404 10th Ave S., Nampa, ID. Wednesday, October 12, 2022 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.
Funeral Services will be held at Alsip and Persons Funeral Chapel, 404 10th Ave S., Nampa, ID. Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 12:00 pm
Graveside Services will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens, 15862 Indiana Ave., Caldwell, ID.
Fred was born, the youngest of seven children, on May 22, 1930 in Hawkins County, Rogersville, TN, the son of Fred Clinton and Rose Jane (Barrett) Hickman. Along with Fred, all six of his siblings were born in the same house located in Hawkins County, TN.
The Hickman family moved to Weiser, ID in 1938 and as a young boy, Fred was reluctant to move from his Tennessee home. But he quickly adapted to his new home and enjoyed the small town of Weiser as he grew into adulthood and developed many lifelong friendships.
As a youngster and as a young adult, Fred was known as “Mott” by family and friends. His dad had given him this nickname, “Mott”, as a toddler and it stuck for many years.
Fred attended Elementary, Jr. High, and High School in Weiser.
Although Fred was not on the swim team, his favorite sport had always been swimming, so it is of no surprise that one of his favorite stories to share has been of a time he was challenged to a race against the swim team’s best freestyler in a freestyle race which ended with Fred winning.
It was after High School, Fred met the “love of his life.” Roberta Lee Shannon was a good-looking cattle ranch gal who had moved to Weiser in 1942 with her family. The story goes that in 1951 Fred was walking the sidewalks of downtown Weiser when he noticed Roberta walking the sidewalk in his direction so . . ., he stopped and they chatted. Afterwards, Roberta told her sister “I am going to marry him” and Fred said that “he prayed to God that she would be his wife.”
Fred and Roberta were married by the Caldwell Seventh-Day Adventist pastor on October 8, 1952 and were just days short of celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary at the time of Fred’s passing. The newlywed couple continued living in Weiser and it was there that they had the first addition to their family in 1954, Kathy Jolene.
“It was in the town of Caldwell, the year was 1952,
when a young couple stood before the preacher and said, “I do”.
They each agreed with the preacher when he said, “till death do you part”
because they both had undying Love in their hearts.
Now fifty years later in time Roberta says, “I am yours; you are mine”.
Fred looks into her eyes of blue and says, “Darling, that goes double for me too.”
Circa 2002 - Frederick Clinton Hickman, Jr.
Shortly after Jolene was born, Fred enlisted in the U.S. Army and served his country during the Korean War Conflict. His service started in California and then Fort Campbell, KY for Airborne School, and then the 82nd Airborne Infantry Division at Fort Bragg, NC. While stationed at Fort Bragg, Fred and Roberta had the second addition to their family in 1955, Anthony Dale.
Fred was Honorably Discharged from the US Army on July 21, 1956.
Throughout his life, Fred displayed pride in being a member of the 82nd Airborne Division, an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations and was also proud of and always displayed his “Jump Wings.”
After his service in the Army, Fred and Roberta lived in several locations and continued to add to their family: with Floyd Clinton (1959) in Baker, OR; Steven Jerry and Robert Terry (1960) in Caldwell, ID; and Rose Luella (1962) in Nampa, ID.
After his service in the Army, Fred chose law enforcement as his professional career. He took seriously the duties of serving the community and protecting the public that came with this profession. Over the years, his leadership competency grew as he experienced career success advancing in roles from patrolman, passing his Sergeant’s exam, onto Lieutenant, and Chief-of-Police.
After retirement from law enforcement, Fred spent more time indulging in his favorite pastimes which included music, western genre TV shows and movies, coffee, conversation with the sharing of his common sense, and family.
As an adult, Fred enjoyed family get togethers, traveling to visit family and friends in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California, and Tennessee, and mostly, retelling of the visits to those who were not in attendance.
Fred was a verbose individual who enjoyed conversation and the swapping of tales. He made many “coffee shop” friends throughout his life and enjoyed his time with them. Always up for a cup of coffee and sharing stories of his childhood in Rogersville, helping his family with the tobacco crop process as a youngster that included stories of seeding, weeding, harvesting, curing, and transport in horse drawn wagons to market. In his retelling he somehow always made the tobacco crop process sound like fun.
With coffee and conversation sessions, Fred often shared fond memories of his mother Rose and sister Carmen reading and discussing the Bible with him. Also included in his favorite story list, one that he shared with a grin, was of his bewilderment at getting hit in the head with a hay derrick and of his survival. It seemed that he wore his head bandages from this incident with a sense of boyish pride.
Fred enjoyed sharing stories of the journey out west, his childhood and young adult antics, his time in the Army, people he had met throughout his life, and his view and “common sense” take on politics, religion / Bible, and current events.
When not playing music or engaging in coffee and conversation, Fred was likely to be watching westerns. His favorite western TV show was “Tales of Wells Fargo” (Dale Robertson) - 1957-1962.
“. . . whom I can imitate his voice and walk, which I have done for him, and in the 60’s I was mistaken for him.”
Frederick Clinton Hickman, Jr.
Favorite western movies of Fred’s included: “Shane” (Alan Ladd) - 1953, and “The Ox-Bow Incident” (Henry Fonda) - 1942.
Part of Fred’s music, meet and greet, and coffee and conversation enjoyment package was a yearly trek to the Old Time Fiddler’s Contest in Weiser and visiting Weiser kin. Fred was a self-taught musician who showcased his talent with original material and covers on the guitar, mandolin, banjo, harmonica and vocals. Some of the favorite artists that his cover playlist included were: Jonny Cash, Jim Reeves, Hank Williams, Marty Robins, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Roger Miller, Porter Wagner, Conway Twitty, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Charley Pride, Willie Nelson, and Elvis Presley.
Fred always enjoyed getting together with his long-time friend, Loren Turnipseed, and just making music for hours at a time, or performing with Loren for Loren’s church group, or at a local radio station for broadcast.
“. . . my favorite way to spend a day is to have coffee with friends, play guitar & sing, play harmonica.”
Frederick Clinton Hickman, Jr.
Fred is preceded in death by: parents, Frederick Clinton Hickman, Sr. and Rose Jane (Barrett) Hickman of Weiser, ID; siblings, LeRoy Hickman of Caldwell, ID, Anna Carmen Caviness of Mesa, AZ, Elmer Charles Hickman of Boise, ID, Sarah Elizabeth (Beth) Kiser of Weiser, ID, Thomas Leondus (Lon) Hickman of Portland, OR, and Mary Ethel Widener of Weiser, ID; Three children, Floyd Clinton Hickman of Caldwell, ID, Steven Jerry Hickman of Long Beach, CA, Robert Terry Hickman of Nampa, ID: Son-in-law, Leo Dennis Valles of Vancouver, WA; Grandchild, Jared Clinton Amesquita Hickman of Nampa, ID (son of Kathy Jolene).
Fred is survived in death by: spouse, Roberta Lee (Shannon) Hickman of Caldwell, ID. Three children, Kathy Jolene Hickman of Kuna, ID and four of her children Crissi, Tara, Justin, and Chenoa; Anthony Dale Hickman and his spouse Pamela of Boise, ID and their children Jacade and Emery; Rose Luella (Valles) Braswell and her spouse Reggie of Gravette, AR and her children Leo, Shane, Steven and Christopher. Daughter-in-law, Mariette Hickman (husband Steven Jerry is deceased) of Long Beach, CA and their child, Kadison; Grandchildren, Misty Dawn (Hickman) Shurtliff of Spokane, WA and Ethan Anthony Hickman of Boise, ID (their father Floyd Clinton is deceased). In addition, Fred is survived by 28 Great grandchildren.
Fred will be greatly missed by all of the lives he has touched.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that Memory Tribute Gifts be made to:
Parkinson’s Foundation
Pacific Northwest Chapter
https://www.parkinson.org/
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