Henry Wayland Hicks Sr., 93, of Raeford, formerly of Candor,
died Monday, April 24, 2017 at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in
Pinehurst.
He was born on June 18, 1923 in the Onvil community of
Montgomery County. He was the first of
four sons born to the late Henry Harrison Hicks and Ina Sedberry Hicks
Craven. His brothers, Calvin, Bill and
Neil predeceased him as did his loving wife of 53 years, Mozelle Thompson
Hicks.
He graduated from Troy High School in 1942 and before
serving his country, was a welder in the Navy shipyards in Wilmington, North
Carolina building Liberty ships. He
served his country as part of the World War II European Theater. He served in the Army and was a member of the
83rd division, 330th infantry regiment, C Company – the Thunderbolts. After suffering an injury, he was moved into
the U.. Army Air Corps and was a part of the 464th Bomb Group. He came back to Candor in 1946 and made his
home there. He married Mozelle in 1953
and they had two sons. He was a caring and loving father and an even more
devoted husband. He had a love of farming and had a mechanical mind. He worked with several different farmers in
Moore and Montgomery counties for many years by helping with the planting,
harvesting or building an engine or transmission in a tractor.
In recent years, he was more active in exploring his
military past by reaching out to fellow Thunderbolts and traveling back to
Europe. He was able to reconnect with
the Thunderbolts and participated in their annual reunion events across the
country. At the 2015 reunion, he, along
with other surviving veterans, were awarded the French military’s highest
honor, the National Order of the Legion of Honour and was knighted by the
French government. In 2012, he, along
with his two sons, traveled across Europe and was able to visit some of the
same areas and battlefields he had experienced as a young soldier 70 years
prior. Though he didn’t feel as if he
deserved it, he received a hero’s welcome in many of the towns that they
visited, including a parade and the honor of lowering our nation’s flag over
the US Cemetery in Luxembourg.
He was proud of the town he lived in and was a pillar of the
Candor community. This was exemplified
when he was named the Grand Marshal of the North Carolina Peach Festival parade
in 2014. He also volunteered at the
Candor Fire Department for more than 25 years.
Together with Mozelle, they owned and operated the Candor Flower Shop
for more than 33 years bringing the beauty of flowers to so many. Since 1949, he has been a committed member of
Candor Baptist Church, where he served as a Deacon, and was the oldest living
member of the church until his passing.
He is survived by his sons and daughters-in-law, Henry and
Lydia Hicks of Raeford, and Billy and Rose Hicks, of Waukee, Iowa. His grandchildren are Way Hicks and his wife,
Andrea, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, McKenzie Long and her husband, Jay, of
Wilson, North Carolina,
Andrew Hicks and his girlfriend, Rachel Plummer of Dallas,
Texas, and Alexis, Abigail, and Amelia Hicks of Waukee, Iowa. Charlotte Ann Long and Aiden Kane Hicks are
his great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his stepdaughter, Judith Marcum
of Yuma, Arizona, his sister-in-law, Delores Hicks of La Porte, Texas, and his
special friend, Mrs. Frances Pigford of Troy, North Carolina. He leaves behind a host of loved ones,
including the Thompson family, which made him one of their own even before he
and Mozelle were married.
The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday,
April 27 at Briggs-Candor Funeral Home.
The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday, April 28 at Candor
Baptist Church, with the Rev. Steve Jarman and Pastor John Baker
officiating. Burial will follow with
military honors in Candor Cemetery.
Flowers accepted or memorials may be made to the Candor
Baptist Church, PO Box 614, Candor NC
27229 or to the Candor Volunteer Fire Dept., PO Box 580, Candor NC 27229.
Online condolences may be made at
www.briggsfuneralhome.com