Gerald “Jerry” Francis Hicks

Gerald “Jerry” Francis Hicks of Grove City passed away Friday morning in Grove Manor following an extended illness. He was 90.

Jerry was born in Bradys Bend on March 8, 1926, to John Francis and Cecil Mae Rossman Hicks.

He graduated from East Brady High School in 1944 and from Grove City College in 1950.

Jerry enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1944 and served in the Pacific Theater of World War II, participating in the Philippine liberation.

Upon graduation from college, Jerry join the National Cash Register (NCR) Corp. and became a senior sale representative for Mercer County.

In 1958, he became co-founder of what is today known as Hicks Office Equipment.

He served as CEO of the firm for 54 years until he retired in 2010.

Before moving to Grove City, Jerry was active in many organizations in the Shenango Valley among which included Sharon University Club, the Sharon Kiwanis Club, the Sharon Community Chest, the Shenango Valley Chapter of SPEBSQSA, the Sharon Country Club, the Hermitage Rotary Club, St. Paul's United Church of Christ, the Jaycees of Shenango Valley, the Shenango Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Sharon Elks Lodge 103.

Other memberships included the Free and Accepted Masons Lodge 810 Hermitage, the Scottish Rite New Castle Consistory, the Zem Zem Shriners of Erie, the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 6616, Hermitage, the National Rifle Association, and Ducks Unlimited.

At the time of his death, Jerry was an active member of the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church of Grove City where he had served several terms as an elder, clerk and a member of the choir.

Jerry loved being outdoors where he enjoyed his favorite pastimes of golf, hunting, fishing, gardening and spending time at the family camp at Muzette, Pa.

Surviving are his wife of 69 years, Helen (Crawford) at home; three daughters, Mary Jane Heckman and her husband, the Rev. Allen, of Jim Thorpe, Pa., Judy Clare and her husband, Michael, of Mulberry, Ind., and Barbara Wood and her husband, Steve, of Grove City; one son, John Hicks of Grove City; five grandchildren; four step-grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

Jerry was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Donald James Hick; and an uncle of Jerry's, Paul Rossman, who was younger than Jerry, but they were raised like brothers.

HICKS — Visitation hours for Gerald “Jerry” Francis Hicks, who died Friday, March 18, 2016, will be from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday at the Cunningham Funeral Home, 306 Bessemer Ave., Grove City.A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, 2426 Scrubgrass Road, Grove City, with the Rev. Tom Clyde, officiating.Burial will be in Crestview Memorial Park with military honors.Memorials in Jerry's memory may be sent to the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, 2426 Scrubgrass Road, Grove City, PA 16127.