Edgar Hicks Thank you for instilling in me the values and wisdom which have led me to be very successful in both my personal and professional life. I am so grateful that I have been able to instill these values in my children and grandchildren as well. 1. Strong work ethic and a determination to succeed: -You took me to your Lawsons store on 83rd and Quincy at the age of 5 to begin my work career. -When you and I argued about my work performance while I was in my second year in nursing school, I told you I quit, and you said fine, but you would not continue to pay for my education. Looking back, that was the best thing for me because it instilled in me a drive to succeed without anyone’s help. I was able to work in the school office, the hospital dietary department, and as a nurse’s aide to pay my own tuition. 2. Perfection: -You made sure that I checked the dates on all merchandise and stocked the shelves based on those dates. -You made sure that I had stocked the shelves with the labels facing forward and perfectly straight, or I had to fix it to your standard. -When I turned 13, you had your own franchise, Dairy Mart on 131st and Lenacrave. I was begging to work on the cash register, but you said I could not unless I could count the customer’s change in my head instead of using the register to tell me how much change the customer should receive. If you had that store today, Brevyn would be right there with you because he has been doing this type of math in his head since the age of 6. 3. Leadership and Responsibility: At 15 years old, you made me responsible for the store and the employees when you had to leave to go to the bank or to the race track. I had to give the cashiers change when needed, resolve customer complaints, and when the store closed, I had to clean the meat slicer and count the money with you if there was a discrepancy. 4. Customer Service: Your motto was THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT!! If a customer brought an item back to the store with a complaint, you always made it right, even if the customer was wrong. As a nurse, I follow this principle when dealing with patients and families when they complain about services that they did or did not receive. 5. Financial Responsibility: -You said everyone should only have 2 credit cards: Sears to buy appliances and JC Penney to buy clothes. You said to pay the bill in full the following month so you would not accrue interest. -You said if you wanted to buy things, you had to pay with cash so you would not go into credit card debt ,and if you didn’t have the cash to buy it, then you didn’t need it. -When you bought my first car when I graduated from high school, you said I had to pay my own insurance, make an appointment with your friend James Bridges to get the oil changed every 3,000 miles, and to keep at least half a tank of gas in the car at all times or I would not be allowed to drive. 6. The art of negotiation, especially when buying cars: The best memories were when you would take Angelo and me to car dealerships to buy by your vans, Cadillacs, and cars for us. You would point to the car you wanted, tell the salesman what you were going to pay and not a penny more. When the salesman tried to counter your offer, you would say “Listen, I have cash money, is your manager going to let cash money walk out the door?” Once the deal was made, you would say “Pam, run out to the car and get me the brown paper bag with the rubber band on it under my seat”. Sure enough, you paid for all of the cars in cash money. Afterwards, you would take us to a fast food place to get something to eat on the drive home. Now, I can’t buy myself a car with cash money, but for my kids’ first used cars, I went to the dealership, negotiated the price, and pulled out my checkbook and wrote a check for the entire cost for their cars. Growing up, I sometimes resented the fact that I had to work all summer long, sometimes Friday nights, and every Saturday morning while friends and siblings were able to play outside, go to movies, or Geauga Lake, and I had to pay my own car insurance when Angelo didn’t have to. Looking back, I think you were trying to teach me to take care of myself so I wouldn’t have to come asking you for money, to buy me a house, to give me a down payment on a house, to pay my mortgage, to co-sign for a car, pay my utilities, buy me a washer and dryer, or furniture. I think you knew my feelings about you when I was a teenager/young adult because when I went to see you at Hillcrest, you asked me to come closer closer closer to your face and you kissed me on my check for the first time that I could ever remember. You asked when were you going home and I told you I didn’t know if you could go home because of your breathing. I told you that you may have to go to a facility first, and you told me, do what you think is best. But after learning how truly sick you were on December 8th when I eavesdropped on the doctors discussing your care, I knew you would not be with us much longer. When I came to see you the evening before you passed away, I knew the end was near as you labored so hard to breathe by using every single muscle in your chest. I am so thankful and blessed that at least I had the chance to stroke your hair, tell you I love you, and to thank you for making me work at your store. With each statement, you nodded your head yes to let me know you heard me. Thank you Daddy for the hard lessons you taught me and rest in peace. Please tell Winkey and Angelo to save me a spot so we can laugh about the good ole days at Dairy Mart. Love yall

To the Hicks Family we are definitely praying for comfort and strength during this difficult time. To my best friend Kisha love you and keep your head up.

Please accept our deepest condolences for your family's loss.