Our beautiful mother, Judy J. Hicks, passed peacefully on January 20, 2023 of Parkinson’s complications at Calvary Hospice Hospital in the Bronx. She was 85 years, 9 months and 23 days old, but who’s counting?
Born on March 28, 1937, an Easter Sunday, Judy grew up in Moline, Illinois. As a youngster, Judy enjoyed delivering the local paper by bicycle (“except on windy days”), singing songs like “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now” in the backyard with her younger sister Margo, and cheering at pep rallies with friends she cherished for life.
In 1954, Judy studied at William Woods College in Fulton, Missouri. After graduating with an AD in liberal arts, Judy relished her independence in the big city, working as a ticket agent for Eastern Airlines at Chicago’s O’Hare. In 1957, she married her college sweetheart, Thomas Hicks of St. Louis, Missouri.
Like many women of her generation, Judy was instrumental in Tom’s corporate ladder ascent, tackling a “Joy of Cooking” dish anytime Tom’s boss came for dinner, supporting her husband’s career moves, and managing the care of her growing family.
Judy and Tom lived in New Haven, Milwaukee, and Topsfield, Massachusetts, before settling in Neenah, Wisconsin, in 1971. A perk of Tom’s promotion to VP of Sales & Marketing for the George Banta Company was season tickets to Judy’s beloved Packers. Judy was a rabid fan. The Green Bay Packers were Judy’s “happy place.” Be it live at Lambeau or on TV, watching her beloved “Pack” play brought Judy great joy.
Judy and Tom’s efforts also allowed them to build their dream home. They were among the first to break ground in beautiful Ridgeway Heights, a sprawling neighborhood surrounded by cornfields and a golf course. Judy loved the Wisconsin sunsets. “Children! Come see the sunset!” was a common refrain in her home.
As Depression era children, Judy and Tom worked hard to give their children more than they’d had. There were ponies, Looky and Irish, in the 3-acre backyard, an Elan snowmobile in the 3-car garage, and dogs, Sherlock then Polly dozing on the shag rug in the house. Active and invested in each of her four children’s lives, Judy never missed a school event, be it a wrestling match, swim meet, or spring musical. She also rewarded good grades with cash incentives. A feminist housewife, Judy’s children learned quickly not to leave their shoes in the middle of the family room floor, lest they find them at the bottom of the basement stairs! (Judy was especially proud of this memory in her later years!) “She pushed me into my first League of Women’s Voters meeting and I was hooked,” recalls Marigen Carpenter, former mayor of Neenah and family friend. “I never would have been interested in or qualified for mayoring without that push. She literally changed my life.”
Judy was a voracious reader. After a day of housework, she’d escape in a book for hours. A gal of many creative talents, Judy crafted intricate Halloween costumes, transcribed taut scenes from “Member of the Wedding” and “Mary, Mary” for forensic play competitions, and shined as Luisa in a community theater production of “The Fantasticks.”
“The joy on her face as she rehearsed Luisa really marked me,” recalls daughter Shauna, who grew up to be a musical theater actress and wrote a one-woman show paying homage to Judy’s plight as a marginalized housewife during the Second Wave. Judy delighted in being sung about as the unsung hero she was. She sent VHS copies of the show to EVERYONE! When Shauna brought the show to Los Angeles, Judy contacted the father of someone who worked for the LA Times, landing Shauna the best review of the show to date. By this time, Judy’s days of being just a housewife were long gone. She triumphed in her own right as a successful business owner of Victor Graphics, a printing company located in Baltimore, Maryland. With the help of their son Reese, Judy and Tom launched Victor Graphics in 1983. A year later, oldest son, Tom V., joined to head the NYC sales office. The company started with five employees and no customers, but eventually grew to 150 workers with sales of over 21 million. Victor Graphics allowed Judy to trot out some previously untapped skills. She ran the HR department, trained new salespeople, and created content for the company newsletter, “The Pineapple Review,” which once included her poem, “It’s Neat To Find Your Feet!” about a new grandchild.
In 2006, Judy and Tom amicably divorced after 49 years together, but not before traveling the world and knocking dozens of ports of call off their bucket list. They continued to run Victor Graphics together before selling it to Bang Printing in 2013.
Judy could pick stocks. (Hello, Amazon!) This enabled her to relocate from Baltimore to NYC in August of 2017 for her joyful final act of Broadway shows, fine dining, Packer games at sports bars, and champagne at her granddaughter’s engagement party at the historic Roosevelt Hotel in December of 2019. Judy always had a great fashion sense and looked fabulous on these occasions.
In 2020, Judy took Covid in stride, enjoying breakfast in bed with her New York Times and treasured sunsets in her cozy co-op overlooking the Hudson River. The family is extremely grateful to Teresa, Judy’s steadfast companion of five years, two months, and six days, but who’s counting? In Teresa, Judy had a “We of Me” that made her feel connected, cared for and content in her remaining days.
Judy’s youngest daughter, Vickery, observed, “Mom was one of the smartest people I’ve ever known. She was so quick-witted! She’d crack me up!” Despite the fog of her disease, Judy’s quips still landed, which tickled her to no end. Judy donated her brilliant brain to The Center for Parkinson’s Disease and Other Movement Disorders at Columbia University. Judy is survived by her younger sister Margo Esterdahl, her 4 children, Tom V., Reese, Shauna, and Vickery, her 6 grandchildren, Anthony, Standish, Reese Murphy, Henry, Maria Esme’ and Sean, and 2 great grandchildren, Aniya and Amaya. Judy’s in-laws include Katherine, and Michael X. (Martin). A small family memorial will be held on March 4, 2023 (Judy’s birthday month). Judy has requested her ashes be sprinkled in an Illinois cornfield. Hopefully it won’t be a windy day! In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.