Larry J. Hickman's Obituary
Larry J. Hickman, age 68, of Oberlin, passed away at Amherst Manor on Friday, March 29, 2019 after a lengthy illness.
He was born in Lorain on October 17, 1950 to James and Betty (nee Winchel) Hickman. He was raised though in Anderson, IN, then for a brief time he lived in Tennessee, before finally moving to this area. When he moved to this area he began his career at Republic Steel Mill in 1969, where he was an operator in the rolling mill, retiring from there in 2014. With his career at the steel mill for 45 years, it was obvious to everyone who worked alongside with him and knew him, that his work ethic was second to none.
Larry was an extremely talented guy in everything he did. His passion and knowledge for cars was incredible. He loved building model cars, restoring and building classic cars, even building cars from the ground up. At one time, he was the president of the Lake Erie Classics Car Club, which is where he won many awards for his black 1956 Chevy. The last classic he built and took great pride in, was his 1953 Chevy truck, which he would drive to “Cruise-Ins.” When he wasn’t working on cars, he liked watching NASCAR, collecting NASCAR memorabilia, working in the garden, and even enjoyed mowing the lawn. The thing about Larry is that he never did anything “half-assed” and always put his heart into everything.
Larry was soft-spoken and possessed such an easy and laid-back nature about him. His personality was magnetic, even during the past few years when he wasn’t able to speak, people were still drawn to him and his personality. Larry and his wife always had a houseful of cats and dogs because his huge heart gave so much love.
He is going to be missed by his wife and “Co-Honey” of 47 years, Terri (nee Butkiewicz), his daughter, Stephanie (Matt Beauclair) Hickman, his siblings; Patty (Ed) Spangler, of TN, Lil Goins, of TN, Jimmy (Kay) Hickman, of TN, and Carol Bush, of TN, as well as all of his nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Barbara.
The family will receive friends on Tuesday, April9th, from 9:00am until the time of his memorial service at 11:00am, at the Dovin and Reber Jones Funeral & Cremation Center, 1110 Cooper Foster Park Road, Amherst. The Rev. Fr. John C. Retar, Pastor of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Parish, will officiate. Private family inurnment will take place at a later time. To send an online condolence, please go to www.dovinreberjones.com.
Contributions are suggested to be made directly to Larry’s family to assist them with his funeral expenses.
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