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Yolo Briggs
Yolo Biggs passed away peacefully at home of natural causes on Sept. 2, 2004. Born July 31, 1902, he was 102 years old.
Mr. Briggs was a World War II veteran who served in the South Pacific, a retired deputy sheriff of Yolo County and a walnut grower. He was loved by all.
He is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Alice Mae; children Kim Briggs (Sandy Carlson), Candee Briggs and Randee Briggs Hutchison; nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his brothers Caldwell, James, Fenley and his sister Jeanette.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Sept. 11, at the Pioneer Presbyterian Church, 205 Russell Street, in Winters. A reception will follow at the Clarence Scott Ranch, 24909 County Road 29, off of County Road 89, about five miles north of Winters.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Yolo County Hospice or the donor’s favorite charity.
BRINGHURST
Royce S. Bringhurst
Royce S. Bringhurst died in his home on Nov. 28, 2005, following a long illness.
He was born Dec. 27, 1918, in Bennion, Salt Lake County, Utah, the fifth of seven children born to Florence Elizabeth Smith and John Tripp Bringhurst.
He graduated from Granite High School in 1937, and attended Utah State College for two years, interrupting his schooling to serve in the Spanish-American Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from November 1939 to April 1942.
Several weeks after his return, he marriage his high school sweetheart, Pearl Davidson, on May 14, 1942, in the Salt Lake City Temple.
He departed shortly thereafter to serve in the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II. He flew 65 combat missions in B-25 bombers over Italy, France and Germany as radioman, bombardier, photographer and navigator.
After a six-year absence, he returned to college and graduated with a B.S. degree in agronomy from Utah State University in 1947. By 1950, he had completed master’s and doctorate degrees in agronomy and genetics from the University of Wisconsin. He took a faculty position at UCLA in 1950 as an avocado geneticist, and subsequently moved to UC Davis in 1953 to become a strawberry geneticist.
At UCD he served as chairman of the pomology department for several years beginning in 1970 and retired from the university after 39 years of service in 1989. During his long career he developed some 30 strawberry varieties, which produced more than 75 percent of the nation’s strawberries. His work on day-neutral varieties changed the landscape of the strawberry industry and greatly extended the growing season.
He was honored for his work as a Fellow in the American Society of Horticultural Science in 1970, and Utah State University awarded him an honorary doctorate at its 100th commencement in 1993. He consulted for the Ford Foundation, US AID, UN FAO and Argentina, Mexico, Italy, United Arab Republic and Egypt.
Following his retirement, he and Pearl served from 1992 to 1994 as church service missionaries in Chile, where he trained Chilean farmers in fruit and berry production. A lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he served as the first bishop of the student ward in Davis, beginning in 1971. He and Pearl served as temple workers in the Oakland Temple for 18 years.
He enjoyed music and sang tenor with the Sacramento Symphony Choir; he also acted in local musical productions and was one of the original members of the Davis Comic Opera Company.
He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Pearl; their six children, Jean Anderson of Las Vegas, Nev.; Florence Nielsen and her husband Lawrence of Browns Valley; Marla Vaughn and her husband John of Oroville; Ann Huffaker and her husband Ray of Pullman, Wash.; John Bringhurst and his wife Betty of Woodland; and Margaret Dobbins and her husband John of Woodland; 22 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.
Services are today at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 615 Elmwood Drive, Davis. A viewing was to begin at 1 p.m. with the funeral at 2 p.m. and the burial to follow at the Davis Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to Yolo Hospice, P.O. Box 1014, Davis, CA 95617-1014.
HIATT
Patricia Theresa Hiatt
Patricia Theresa Hiatt died on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2003, at age 77.
Born May 1, 1926, in Oakland, Mrs. Hiatt had been a Yolo County resident for two years. She was a homemaker all of her adult life.
Survivors include her daughters, Jeanette Lough and husband Dean of Riverside and Theresa Downer and husband Richard of South Lake Tahoe; son, Tom Hiatt and wife Janis of Truckee; grandsons, Andrew and Ethan Lough and Nicolas Downer; sister, Margaret Sullivan of Lafayette; and brother, Jim Lindsay of Niceville, Fla. She was preceded in death by her husband Glen Hiatt.
Arrangements are under the direction of McNary's Chapel of Woodland.
Services: A funeral service is scheduled at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16, at St. Paul Catholic Church, Knights Landing. Burial will be at Knights Landing Cemetery.
HICKEY
Gene M. Hickey Jr.
Gene M. Hickey Jr. died in his home in Juneau, Alaska, on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2002, at age 68.
Mr. Hickey was born April 6, 1934, in Dunsmuir. Mr. Hickey grew up in Dunsmuir and Woodland and graduated from Woodland High School.
He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1953 to 1957, stationed in Presque Isle, Maine. He returned to California, living in Marysville from 1957 to 1959.
Mr. Hickey graduated from Yuba College and then lived in Chico from 1959 to 1965. He graduated from Chico State College and worked for Chico schools as a teacher and counselor.
In 1965, Mr. Hickey went to Bangkok, Thailand, as director of student activities at the International School of Bangkok until 1967.
From 1968 to 1975, he lived in Yuba City and worked for the Yuba City Unified School District as a guidance counselor then vice principal of Yuba City High School. He later became principal of Wilson Continuation School.
Mr. Hickey moved to Woodland in 1975, where he worked for Yuba Community College as director of the Woodland Center.
In 1978, he moved to Alaska, where he was dean of admissions and records and director of student services at the University of Alaska, Juneau, retiring in 1989.
He then flew for Channel Flying as a commercial bush pilot until retiring in 1998. He continued flying his personal aircraft with family and friends and enjoyed sharing the beauty of Alaska.
Mr. Hickey is survived by his wife, Judy Hickey, and beloved dogs, "Moose" and "Bandit" of Juneau.
He is also survived by his children, Susan Kauk of Yuba City, Gene Hickey III of Meridian and Mike Hickey of Sutter; step-children, Tom Lopez of Winters and Julie Oppenheimer of Calabasas; grandchildren, Jason and Kevin Kauk, Nicole Hickey, Andy, Sam and Gabriel Hickey, Kristina Lopez, Matt Milliron and wife, Stacey, and Peer Marie Oppenheimer.
He is also survived by his sister, Mary Rigby of Auburn; brother, Richard Kemp of Sacramento; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Service and burial will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10, at Mount Shasta Memorial Park and Cemetery in Mt. Shasta.
HICKCOX
Chris Jenson Hickcox
Chris Hickcox passed away suddenly at Kaiser's Santa Teresa Hospital in San Jose on Tuesday, Aug. 24 at the age of 75. He was born Feb. 17, 1929 in Etiwanda to Alvin G. and Ida H. Hickcox. He had been a resident of Yolo County since 1975.
After graduation from El Centro High School, he joined the U.S. military. Mr. Hickcox was honorably discharged from the United States Army after completion of four years of service. Two years of his military career were spent in the Panama Canal Zone. Returning to California, he worked with the Sheriff's Department in Southern California for over 25 years. During this time he was the first Chief Criminal Investigator for El Centro's Sheriff's Department. He implemented many new and innovative investigative techniques that are still in use today. During this time, he continued his education, earning a Master's degree in Law from LaSalle University and retired from the department in 1974.
Relocating to Yolo County, Chris went to work as an accountant for PIRMI, and during this time he met his soon-to-be wife, Joanne Griffis. He retired from the company after 16 years of employment. As a "gentleman rancher, " he raised registered mules that were bred from Appaloosa mares. Chris "hand trained" the mules for the purpose of packing. Dozens of these "specially bred and trained" mules were purchased for packing areas such as the Grand Canyon. This was Chris' "Dream Job" and a source of great satisfaction for many years until his health no longer permitted him to continue training these special animals.
Mr. Hickcox was the Past President of the Sheriff's Association, a member of the Elks Lodge, where he held many offices and went "through all the Chairs" eventually to serve as President. An avid volunteer, he was active with the Adopt-A-Highway program since the 1980s. Chris was responsible for the planting of native California oak trees on the Woodland and Yolo exits from I-5, and in 1997, was named "Volunteer of the Year" by the Governor of California. As a volunteer for KCRA television, he joined the Weather Watch Team and reported twice daily to the station up until the time of his passing; he was known affectionately as "Mr. Yolo" in this area.
Chris loved golf and considered it his most cherished pastime. A consistent tournament player, he felt his greatest triumph was winning the XXII Annual Invitation Cotton Golf Tournament at Mexicali, Mexico in 1975. The next step up was to turn pro, but he felt it was "better to be a big and smart fish in a little pond rather then a small 'pro' little fish in a big pond." Fishing with his good buddy, Joe Muller, he always kept the freezer stocked with the catch of the day. Their camaraderie was very special to Chris. Having a green thumb was one of Chris' gifts, and as an avid gardener, his motto was "1/3 for family, 1/3 for my friends and 1/3 for the bugs." He grew and maintained up to 4 1/2 acres of organic asparagus at one time.
Mr. Hickcox is survived by his wife Joanne Nelson Hickcox of Woodland, sons Kent Griffis of Knights Landing and Scott Griffis and his wife Wendy of Woodland, and his daughters Susan Griffis of Woodland and Cindy Gello of Maryland. Grandchildren Amanda Griffis of Knights Landing, Jamie Hartford of Woodland, and Geary Ness of Wellington, Nev., and one great-grandchild Geary Ness Jr. of Wellington, Nev. also survive as does his brother, Lyle Hickcox. He is predeceased by his parents and his brothers, Alvin Hickcox Jr., missing in action in World War II and Roy Hickcox.
A memorial service is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 30, 2004 at 2 p.m. at Kraft Bros. Chapel, 175 Second St., Woodland. Pastor Elmer Prout will officiate. Private interment for family members only will be scheduled at a later date.
Kraft Bros. Funeral Directors of Woodland is assisting the family with arrangements.
HICKS
David Lloyd Hicks
David Lloyd Hicks died May 29, 2005, at Cottonwood Healthcare Center in Woodland. He was 69.
He was born March 18, 1936, in Berry, Ky., to Curtis and Mabel (Maddox) Hicks.
At age 17, he joined the U.S. Air Force and served in the Korean War from 1953-57. Following his military service, he spent 35 years in the automotive industry, a mechanic for Ford Motor Company and General Motors.
He lived in Yolo County for the past 35 years and was active in the citizens band radio circles.
Survivors include daughters Rhonda Waller of Hermitage, Tenn., Victoria Freeman of Vacaville and Teressa Hicks of Dixon; one sister, Anna Hicks of Ohio; one brother, Joseph Hicks of Kentucky; nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Carol Miller.
A gathering of family and friends will be scheduled at a later date, but, out of respect for his request, no other services will be scheduled.
Contributions may be made in his memory to a charity of the donor's choice.
Assisting the family is Evergreen Funeral Services of Woodland.
