Vern Hicks

Vern Hicks passed away at 1 p.m., Feb. 27 at the Ronan home of his grandson, Joshua Hicks, and Josh’s wife Rachael. His wife Audrey, who passed away on Sept. 29, 2012, preceded Vern in death. His six children, David, Douglas, Scot, Todd, Sara, and Joe; 21 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren survive Vern.

A wake was observed at the North Crow home of Joshua and Rachael Hicks, Feb. 27, with a burial at the Ronan Cemetery at 10 a.m. the next morning, followed by a memorial service at the Community Fellowship Church, Ronan, at noon on February 28. Vern Hicks was born in Detroit on August 6, 1926. Vern was born to a broken home and spent his youth in various homes but was most often in the home of his mother, Mildred. Vern had an older sister, Shirley, on his mother’s side, and a younger brother, Bill, on his father’s side of the family. Shirley preceded Vern in death, and Bill survives Vern and resides in Dearborn, Mich. Anyone who knew Vern for any amount of time likely heard him recount the watershed event of his life when as a boy of 13 he heard a woman tell of the wonderful love of Jesus Christ and the death He died to reconcile fallen man to God. Vern committed his life from that time to the Savior depicted for him as suffering on his behalf. That event would shape and direct the life of Vern from that moment to his dying breath. Vern met the love of his life, recovering from illness in the infirmary of Moody Bible Institute, when student nurse Audrey Fraser stepped into the room and opened the blinds of his room. As he said later, “I said to myself that’s the woman I’m going to marry.” He did. Vern and Audrey were married in Clawson, Mich., in 1947. Their first child, David, was born when the young couple lived in Pontiac, Mich., where Vern served as a youth pastor. In 1949, the young family moved to Minnesota, where Vern pastured Baptist and Christian & Missionary Alliance churches in Parkers Prairie and Forest Lake. In Minnesota, three more boys were born to Vern and Audrey, Douglas, Scot, and Todd. In 1960, Vern accepted a church-planting mission in Moncton, New Brunswick, where he moved his growing family. Vern and Audrey served three years in Moncton before moving their family of four boys to Chatham, Ontario, where Vern pastured another Alliance church throughout the remainder of the sixties. In 1968, Vern and Audrey had their long-awaited daughter while living in Chatham: Sara Courtney invaded the family of four boys! In 1970, Vern and Audrey moved their family to Colonie, New York, where Vern pastured another Alliance Church. It was in New York that Vern and Audrey would adopt their youngest child, Joe. The Hicks family moved to Ronan in the summer of 1973, though by that time only Sara and Joe were still living year-round at home. Vern pastured the Alliance Church and then the Community Fellowship, in Ronan, until Vern retired in 2006 after 60 years of pastoral ministry. Throughout Vern’s years of ministry, he had the privilege to share his love for the Savior that had transformed his life as a boy of 13. He often said that there was no joy like leading another person to the Savior. Vern’s years in Ronan also fulfilled a lifelong passion of his in giving him the opportunity to work with his hands while pasturing a church. Throughout his life, he especially enjoyed working with motors. He put himself through college as a Greyhound Bus mechanic, and after moving his family to the Valley, he and Audrey designed and built their own house on Glacier Lily Lane where Vern also built a shop and ran Vern’s Appliance and Small Engine Repair. He loved working with his neighbors, cutting wood, helping with the harvest, and making repairs. A strong advocate of community involvement, Vern drove a school bus for Ronan Public Schools and became the founding board chair for Mission Valley Christian Academy, now located in Polson. Vern suffered the loss of his dear wife Audrey exactly five months ago. He now joins her with the Savior they loved and served together in a marriage of over 65 years, a day both have looked forward to for years.