Ivan "Pete" L. Hicks

Ivan Lee ("Pete") Hicks, age 92, of Little Rock, died on Sunday, June 14, 2015. He was born in Quitman, Arkansas, on February 26, 1923, to Claudia Nell (Moore) Hicks and George Franklin ("Frank") Hicks. Pete was raised in Quitman, with his sister E. Emogene (Hicks) Keathley, and brothers George Franklin ("Bill") Hicks Jr., Forrest Hicks, John Dee Hicks, Travis Clayton ("Dick") Hicks, and Robert Dale Hicks, each of whom predeceased him. Following the early death of their mother, Pete and his siblings became very close and remained so throughout their lives. Pete was a proud World War II veteran who was honorably discharged in December 1945, after four years of service in the United States Navy upon the U.S.S. Maury. He received the Good Conduct Medal, Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon with Blue Star and with Bronze Star, American Theater Medal, Victory Medal, Asiatic Pacific Medal (17 stars), and Philippines Liberation Medal (2 stars). After the war, Pete went to work for Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in Batesville and Little Rock, until he retired in 1986 after 39 years of service. He met Geraldine ("Jerry") Danner in Batesville, where she was a telephone operator. They wed in 1950 and raised their family in Little Rock. In retirement, Pete and Jerry returned to Quitman. They were married for 49 years until her death in 1999. Pete remained in Quitman, where he was happy and forever busy with chores. He relocated to Little Rock earlier this year for health reasons. Pete was a loyal person. From 1953, he valued his membership in the Scottish Rite Valley of Little Rock, as a 32nd degree Mason. In particular, he loved his family, Quitman and Cleburne County, the great outdoors, fishing, quail hunting, Oaklawn Park horse racing, greeting cards, spearmint chewing gum, baseball, and hot black coffee. He owned a series of fine hunting dogs and addressed each one conversationally as "Son." Pete was especially close to his last dog, "Bud," a beloved Brittany Spaniel who predeceased him. Pete is survived by his children Ava M. Hicks (Michael Hornbeck), of Little Rock, David Franklin Hicks (Suzanne), of Little Rock, and Angela Lee Hicks (Doug Ubernosky), of Rancho Cucamonga, California. Family will receive friends from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, June 22nd at Griffin, Leggett, Healey & Roth Funeral Home, 5800 W. 12th Street, Little Rock. A graveside funeral service will be conducted by Rev. Dave Caswell, Pastor of Quitman United Methodist Church, 10 a.m., Tuesday, June 23rd at Roselawn Memorial Park & Cemetery, 2801 Asher Avenue, Little Rock, 72204. Military Honors will be provided by the United States Navy. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Sallis Ranch Large Animal Rescue, Inc., 181 Burgess Lane, Greenbrier, Arkansas 72058, 501-450-6203,http://sallisranchrescue.com, or the charity of your choice. To sign the online guestbook, go to www.griffinleggetthealeyroth.com.