Litchfield Park, AZ - Bill Hickman, Sr.

November 7, 1928 to January 3, 2025

Bill Hickman Sr. was born November 7, 1928 in Columbus, Kansas. He was the first son of Guy and Nell Hickman.

Guy was a lead and zinc miner who started to develop some lung issues. So, in 1939, Guy moved the family west and found work helping build the dams on the Salt and Verde Rivers. The family followed Guy from work camp to work camp before settling permanently in Glendale in 1944 on ten acres on what is now 67th Avenue and Missouri. Bill bragged that he attended 11 schools before graduating from Glendale High School in 1946 -- the first Hickman to do so.

Bill's mother, Nell, always had a garden and chickens wherever they were living, so having a permanent place in 1944 allowed her to have enough eggs to sell to neighbors off her back porch. Bill worked at the local gas station before being drafted into the Army in 1953. He was stationed in Alaska where he got his fill of both snow and camping. Upon receiving an honorable discharge in 1955, Bill returned to Glendale and the gas station, and helped his mother with her flock which had now grown to include 500 laying hens.

Bill also met Gertie Valenzuela, the daughter of a local dry goods merchant. Gertie likes to say she was raised behind a cash register. The two soon married, and Bill bought 500 baby chicks so his mother and Gertie could be in business together. The two women grew the flock to 3,500 hens by 1959, when Bill and Gertie's first son Matthew was born. Bill quit the station to help his mother, while Gertie turned her attention to raising kids instead of pullets.

Bill was able to pass on the family business, and spent the last 40ish years in permanent semi-retirement. He developed a passion for golf where he was able to re-direct his competitiveness to the greens and his buddies.

Bill and Gertie had five children -- Matt (Jennifer), Glenn (Audrey), Billy (Lisa), Clint (Jennifer), and daughter Sharman (Dustin). Their fourteen grandchildren -- Kayleigh, Michael, Grant, Branden, Brett, Brenna, Bliss, Jordan, Tia,Trey (deceased), Trevor, Benton, Cy, and Marcela -- were joyful additions to Bill's life. He is also survived by his wife of 67 years, Gertie, and six great-grandchildren.