William Hicks

William "Bill" Hicks, 62, of Danville, passed away on Saturday, June 16, 2012 after a short, but one heck of a battle with cancer at Carle Hospital in Champaign. He was born May 5, 1950 in Danville, son of Edward "Bert" and Amy Hicks. His mother Amy still survives, as well as his sister Janice Velilla of Danville, and a brother and best friend Thomas (Janis) Hicks of Danville. He left to party on the other side leaving behind five children; Michael (Tammy) Trimble of Ziegler, Amy (Larry) Ponce of Houston, TX, Brandon Hicks of Danville, Melisa S. Hicks of Chicago, and Jacqueline Hicks of Catlin, nine grandchildren; Andrew, Alexander, and Abigayle Hicks all of Catlin, Kacey Miller of Rantoul, Sky Carmean of Danville, Gavin Trimble of Ziegler, and Ashleigh Flores, Domingo Rodriguez and Larry Ponce Jr., all of Houston, TX, two great-grandchildren; Zoe and Zac Jones of Danville, as well as many cousins, nieces, nephews, friends, and a very dear friend Bryan Benkovich. He is also preceded in death by two special brothers Robert Hicks and James Hicks. He joined the United States Army directly out of Oakwood High School on his birthday in 1967 where he was excited to be apart of the 101st Airborne Division. He soon after, left to serve our country in the Vietnam War. He was a risk taker, loved the thrill as dangerous as it was, and re-enlisted while serving in Vietnam, only to serve a second tour He earned many medals and awards, and really loved being a paratrooper and jumping out of planes. He took a lot of pride in serving our country, but after seeing the world all over and reaching the rank of Sergeant, he chose to come home after serving 6 years. He was a jack of all trades. He worked for Industrial Catering in Texas for many years; he was the head of maintenance for many apartment complexes out in California for a few years; he loved to cook and spent time as a chef; he loved building things and spent time as a construction worker/carpenter and also worked with his brother Tom at Hicks Furniture & Refinishing. Whatever it was that needed to be done, Bill could do it. Bill was very much into his muscle cars as a young man, enjoying cruising the streets in his Ford Mustang Mach 1 and his Dodge Super Bee 440. He grew to be an unconditionally loving person. He was an amazing father to his children and did whatever he could to give them what they needed, even if it was his last five dollars. He will be forever missed by many, but will always be looking down on those special people while partying in heaven. Visitation for family and friends of William "Bill" Hicks has been scheduled from 4-7pm on Friday, June 22, 2012 and Funeral at 11am on Saturday, June 23, 2012 at Sunset's Oakwood Funeral Chapel, located at 105 E. South Main Street in Oakwood. Burial will be held at Spring Hill Cemetery in Danville with full military honors. In lieu of flowers, the Hicks family requests that donations be made to the Illinois Veterans Foundation, 12003 S Pulaski Ave #106 Alsip, IL 60803. Please help the Hicks family share in the memories, pictures, and video's of William "Bill" Hicks by logging on www.sunsetfuneralhome.com