B16, Terrace Review — Wednesday, July 25, 1990

Dr. Roger

Hicks

fondly remembered

by Betty Barton

‘Terrace was saddened by the
death of Dr. Roger Hicks on July
12th. Dr. Hicks died at his home in
Terrace, as a result of broken ribs
from a fall earlier in the week. Dr.
Hicks was 66 years of age on
' April 3rd and had been born in
Calgary, Alberta.

Dr. Hicks had been a general
practitioner in Terrace since 1951.
He had taken time away to further
his studies in Scotland and Ger-
many from 1954 until 1957. He
also did alot of travelling in the
’60s. Dr. Hicks took early retire-
ment in the late. seventies, for
health reasons.

Long-time friend and next door
neighbour Bill McRae described
Roger as "a very private guy, but
friendly and sociable." Ev Clift,
another old friend, met Roger, in
his role as a doctor, when Ev had
hepatitis in the early ‘50s. He says
now, "We were both forced into
early retirement. But we made the
most of it and had fun ‘cruising
around’". He adds, "When some-
one would stop .by, Roger was
always polite, interested and kind.
No one would ever get the idea
that he’d rather be alone.”

Roger enjoyed reading, spending
time at his cabin at Lakelse Lake
and taking long walks. Ev remem-
bers, "Rog went for a walk almost
every day. Each afternoon at 3,
he’d show up at my place (Clift’s
cabin at Lakelse) for coffee and
cookies. And we’d argue politics."

Roger Hicks also enjoyed trips to
Hawaii in January and February,
with long-time companion Diana
Elkins. Helene McRae recalls
telling Di Elkins, when she moved
in next door with Roger, "I’m glad
you’re here. I won’t have to mow
the lawn any more."

Dr. Hicks did property develop-
ment at the lake and in Terrace. In
the early ’60s, he was one of the
first buyers of property from Len

and Nancy Orr when they sub-
divided their property on Walsh
Ave. Roger lived across the street
at the time. Nancy Orr still lives in
the old log home on the corner of
’ Walsh and Eby. Dr. Hicks bought
his own piece of property and then
put Helene and Bill McRae’s name
“on the piece beside his. They were
neighbours until Roger's death.
". When Dr. Hicks arrived in Terr-
ace, he replaced Dr. McGilvrey.
The only other doctors in Terrace
at the time were Mills and Weir.
The McRaes note, "He delivered
alot of babies. Everyone knew
. . him: He’s been like family to our
‘kids."
“Corby King considered Roger
- Hicks one of his oldest:and dearest
‘friends. ‘Corby recounts; "Roger
delivered our daughter, Christine.
When’ she was just.a little girl,
he’d come over from his cabin to

Even though he didn’t ‘consider
himself very good with children,
he’d go right along with it. She
really looked forward to his visits."

Roger’s own family consisted of
his brother Gerry, a sister Margaret
and three nephews and a niece,
before Diana came along. Roger
and Gerry put each other through
medical school at UBC and the
University of Toronto. Roger
worked in fisheries on the B.C.
coast while attending UBC.
Coincidentally, both Corby King’s
and Roger Hicks’ parents retired in
Kelowna and became fast friends,
like their sons.

Corby King describes Roger as
an avid fisherman and boater. Ev
Clift says, "Rog had a classy thirty
footer. | had a rather restricted
twenty footer. Mostly Corb would
take his." Roger Hicks was always
very responsible and serious when
he was operating the boat. But ‘he
would take the time to appreciate
nature. He’d often just sit in a bay
and appreciate the sounds. Corby
fondly remembers a trip down the
coast together. They often enjoyed
the peace and beauty of a secluded
bay. Roger’s biggest fear was that
someone would motor into the bay
and disturb their solitude.

Bill McRae recounts a fishing
story, about an outing down the
Douglas Channel with Roger
Hicks, Lloyd Holt and Gary. They

were in such high spirits that they _

forgot to tell their wives “where
they were going. The wives

thought they’d gone flying in Ga- _

ry’s plane and were frantic when
they weren’t home by dark. Bill
remembers, "When we finally
arrived home, the only one NOT
"in hot water" was Roger. He
wasn’t married!”

Roger had a dry sense of
humour, Corby recalls. When he
and his wife, Lillian moved to
Salmon Arm, their Terrace friends
held a big going-away party. On a
subsequent fishing trip to Dease
Lake with Roger Hicks and Ev
Clift, duties were divided. Roger

was head cook, Ev did dishes-

(because of this, he was nicknamed
"Sloshy") and Corby looked after
the boat and fishing gear. Corby
says they sometimes had little
arguments about the delegation of
duties. To lighten a tense moment,
Roger retorted to Corby, “You
know that party we had when you
left Terrace. That was for Lillian."

On a trip down the coast one fail
(Roger moored his boat in
Vancouver in the winter), Ev Clift
remembers an oyster shucking
session. All three of them, Corby,

' Roger and Ev loved raw oysters.

In the process of freeing an oyster
from its shell, Ev’s knife. slipped
and he slashed his hand. He
recalls, "The doc had to bandage -
my hand, Then he sald, ‘stick out”
your tongue’, When I. did, he

DR. ROGER HICKS favourite saying was, “We've had the best of it..."

This gesturé was so appreciated
that Roger and Corby took turns
feeding Ev for awhile. When they
tired, Roger said Ev would have to
figure out some other way, if he
wanted any more oysters. Ev cle-
verly propped an oyster on a spoon
and with his good hand, poured a
drop of Drambuie into the shell.
The shell immediately fell open
and he slurped up the oyster. Ro-
ger’s only comment was, "Miracles
are still happening!”

Ev says Roger Hicks’ favourite
saying was, "we’ve had the best of
it. Lots of fish, no competition and
few rules and regulations." Roger
Hicks and Ev Clift jokingly called
themselves the "lakeside farmers".
In the spring, they would both
plant their own gardens, Ev’s
much larger than Roger’s, (100 sq.
fi. compared to about 14 sq. ft.)
but in an obviously less fertile
location. In the fall, they would
compare resulis. The winner,
always Roger, with the largest
vegetables, would receive 10 cents
per vegetable.

Betty Campbell relates a story of
Dr. Hicks meeting her‘sister on
Heron Island (part of the Great
Barrier Reef off the east coast of
Australia). Dr. Hicks was enjoying
the sun and sand on the beach
when a couple sat down and
engaged him in conversation.
When they discovered he was from
Canada, the woman said, "I have a
sister in Canada." Roger asked
"Where?", just to be polite. The
woman replied, "In Khutzeyma-
teen". Roger responded, "That
could be none other than Betty
Campbell." No one then was fam-
iliar with the name. |

Betty says, "It really tickled him.
He: told the story to people for
years. My sister never forgot it
either." Betty, a native Australian,
her husband Jock and daughters

‘ Leslie and Susan.moved to Terrace

in 1953. Betty worked as an RN at
the old army hospital

(now the Flynn Apariments) with
Dr. Hicks. "I have great memories
-of him as a doctor.” D:. Hicks.was
also Betty Campbell’ § own n phys

Corby King also appreciated
Roger Hicks as a friend and as a
doctor. They first met in Terrace,
as newcomers, in 1953. In 1959,
Corby had an operation done in
Vancouver. His release was depen-
dent on the close attention of a
competent doctor in Terrace. That
doctor turned out to be Dr. Hicks.
He was building his cabin at La-
kelse Lake at the time. On his way
to and from the lake, he would
faithfully check in to see how
Corby was doing. They became
fast friends and spent alot of time
together over the years.

Corby says that Roger was per-
haps less visible or vocal that other

community figures, but he had the
best interests of Terrace at heart
and worked towards its betterment.
He was one of the founding direc-
tors of Skeena Broadcasters (until
recently, the public company
which operated TK radio, TV and

. cablevision).

Roger Hicks and Diana Elkins
had just finished building their
retirement home in Comox. They
were to have moved last week.
Roger was looking forward to

winters away from the ice and -

snow and returning to Terrace for
the summers, for the friendship
and the fishing.

AN AVID FISHERMAN, Dr. Hicks proudly posed with
_ arecent catch and the charter boat operator.

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