ROBERT (BOB) FREDERICK JOSEPH HICKERTY

Posted: October 22nd, 2021

1927 ~ 2021

 

Our dad peacefully passed away on the evening of October 16, 2021 just 3 months away from his 95th birthday. He relished every minute of his time on earth.

Born in Melaval, Saskatchewan to his parents Elizabeth and Fred Hickerty, dad was the 3rd of 5 children. He was the smallest of all his siblings and we’re told that one day his dad said “Bobby, you’re the runt of the litter. You’ll have to use your smarts”. He took that advice to heart, combined it with an incredible work ethic, and became a natural leader.

Dad told us many stories of growing up on a prairie farm, and his story began in the Dirty Thirties – that infamous decade prior to WWII characterized by economic hardship brought on by intense drought and exacerbated by the global Great Depression. He described months when he never saw a nickel in the house and everyone had to chip in to make ends meet. At age 6 he began running a trapline for sought after furs, and found it so profitable that he continued it for a number of years. At age 8 he accepted a 25 cent/month job of going to his country school early enough to fire up the pot belly stove and have the room warm for the students and teacher when they arrived.

He described in detail the fun memories as well – like winning the freckle contest and yodelling contest at the Moose Jaw County Fair. Dad had a tryout with the Moose Jaw Canucks hockey team and the coach told him he was smart, and fast, and to come back when he grew another 6 inches and gained 30 pounds. That ended any aspirations of a hockey career.

The end of the decade brought another global event front and center – WWII. At 14 he was given a driver’s license because the economy needed to roll and most of the young men were at war. That same year – 1941 – he bought a 1928 Model A Ford, left home and worked at his uncle Joe Walter’s garage in Melaval, coming home on the weekends to help on the farm.

Dad was accepted into the College of Pharmacy at the University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon), and graduated in 1952 with Great Distinction. Simultaneous to college he became a Cadet on the HMCS Unicorn for the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve. By the time college had ended dad was appointed Sub-Lieutenant and was awarded the Department of National Defence Sword, an honour given annually for outstanding performance to only one cadet in all of Canada. Post graduation he was offered a career in the military and scholarships to Ivy League Colleges – one of which was Harvard. He turned down all of these opportunities in favor of marrying our mom, Beverley Kaye (Holmes), and in 1954 they moved to the beautiful town of Eastend, Saskatchewan, starting his own drugstore business as a pharmacist. He fell in love with the Cypress Hills and instilled that “love of the hills” to his 6 children and his numerous grand-children and great grand-children.

Our dad could do anything he set his mind to. He was a founder, player and coach for men’s hockey, baseball and softball in Eastend. He, mom and their friends played in a band, curled, and simply became outstanding community members. He obtained his pilot’s license and bought his own Luscombe airplane. He and mom built our house and moved their growing family into our new home in 1956. In the late 60’s dad built a cabin at Cypress Park. As a pharmacist he was considered a member of the medical community, and accepted the position of Coroner. He brought in and kept all key veterinary supplies in stock, and was on 24 hour call for all the ranchers within a 50 mile radius. We’ve accompanied him to ranches and witnessed him pull calves, perform c-sections on livestock, and administer new vaccines and medicines.

His love of the Cypress Hills combined perfectly with his passion for hunting and fishing, and on the walls of his hallway he proudly displays three Saskatchewan certificates for the largest Walleye, Brook Trout and Brown Trout of the year – all caught within 25 minutes of his doorstep.

Dad sent all six children to college, feeling at the time that post-secondary education was a must. He fostered within us key principals: we needed to be able to take care of ourselves, and everything was black and white, right and wrong, and that we were responsible for our actions.

He sold his drugstore in the 1970’s, and started a Pharmacist’s Relief Consulting business which allowed for drugstore entrepreneurs to keep their business open while going for vacation – dad took over the store’s operations. This gave him the flexibility for both him and mom to travel. During this time he worked in the NWT, initially so that he could become a resident and hunt buffalo. Mom always accompanied him on these work adventures, and they loved what they discovered along the way.

In the early 1980’s dad, mom and their youngest daughter Bobbi Jo decided to move to Medicine Hat – it was still close to his beloved Hills, yet closer to all of his children who by then had embarked on their own careers. They eventually moved to an acreage on the outskirts of Medicine Hat. He and mom built a house connected to the home of their youngest daughter and her growing family.

We lost mom in 2013, but dad was fortunate in that he was surrounded by so many children, grandchildren and great grand-children who always made him feel comforted. In dad’s words, he said “I miss your mom, but I’m never lonely”.

In his final 20 years he chose to first slow down, and then to quit hunting. Instead he scattered grain daily at the back of his acreage for his pheasants, which he adopted as his personal responsibility to foster. To his last breath though, he loved hearing our hunting and fishing stories.

Dad stayed healthy and vibrant for most of his elderly years – he hiked every day, read voraciously, and took an active role in looking after his family. Undoubtedly his love of life contributed to his longevity. He became tired the last month of his life, and like the great patriarch he was, he began to prepare us in subtle ways. When one of his grand-children told him they wished he’d live to be 100, he replied “I don’t want to. I’m too tired”. He told us he was not afraid to join our mom and see his family and friends. He said he would miss us, and we replied to him that he’d still be busy watching over us.

He was able to walk the Hills he loved and enjoyed up to his last breath. Dad is survived by his 6 children: Heather (Byron Robb), Kim (Pat Hagel), Cindi (Ken Holland), Scott (Jo-Anne), Tanys (Murray Kush) and Bobbi Jo (Dave Sim). He is also survived by numerous grand-children and great grand-children, and has often told us that the family tree he and mom planted has grown to 50 people.

Dad’s legacy is a wonderful, successful story and it is now his surviving family’s responsibility to ensure that this incredible individual will never be forgotten. He will be missed, but our memories we will hold dear to our hearts.

A Private Family service will be held at Cook Southland Funeral Chapel with Father Roque Periera officiating. (Condolences may be expressed by visiting www.cooksouthland.com) Honoured to serve the family is

 

 

Cook Southland Funeral Chapel Crematorium & Reception Facility, 901 – 13th Street S.W. Medicine Hat, Alberta T1A 4V4 Phone 403-527-6455 www.cooksouthland.com”Locally owned & directed”