One of the absolute greatest members of the Oaks Hills First ward passed away last Saturday. I was her favorite Primary kid, so I feel like I should write a tribute to her, out of duty.
I think every neighborhood has at least one “crazy lady”. (I’m totally gonna be the one in my ward.) Well, Sister Hickman was our’s. And when I say crazy, I also mean hilarious, energetic, loving, friendly, and pretty much awesome. (Hoping for some of those qualities as well.) She was the fire in our ward, as well as the neighborhood “gossip”, if you will. I mean that in a very kind way. She just liked to be in on everything, not unlike myself. (That will unquestionably be me.) I remember one time she opposed a calling, and I have respected her for that ever since.
She was the Primary pianist when I was in Primary, and I remember her spouting out different things during the lessons, and I just always thought she was incredibly cool. As evidenced by that calling, she was obviously a pianist, which means she had a piano, which means Lucy and I made our monthly rounds of pre-Master Class performances to her every month. And she always seemed happy to hear us! How cool is that? I got to play for her when the cancer started to get bad, and that was really special.
For some reason, Bishop Holcombe called Lucy and me to be co-choir presidents, which means we had to call EVERY SINGLE CHOIR MEMBER, EVERY SINGLE WEEK. And you know how I love talking on the phone…. Yeah. But I always did members A-L, which included Sister Hickman, so she got the “Hi Sister Hickman, I’m just calling to remind you–” “I’ll be there.” Every week? Seriously? Baffles me. (I still love Bishop Holcombe, though.) So she was a rock in the alto section, and I think we were really blessed to have her. She and Sister Christiansen and the Monsons and Brother Marlowe were the constants. Oh boy.
She was and is a wonderful example to me, and when I say I want to be like her when I’m old, I absolutely mean it. Her husband died like 30 years ago, and although I’m definitely not planning on that, (please no) I admire her attitude of service and compassion and love, even when she had experienced such a tremendous loss. I think I’ll recognize Brother Hickman when I get to the next life, because she talked so much about him. I hope to have that kind of love for everyone.
Sister Hickman was so great. And she made everyone feel loved. I guess that’s why I think I was her favorite Primary kid.
This is her real and very well-written obituary.