Ethel Wicks

Ethel Lily (Jensen) Wicks, age 99 years, formerly of The Bronx, Cambria Heights, Baldwin, and Babylon, NY, died Friday, November 27, 2020 at Affinity Skilled Living, Oakdale NY. Ethel was born and raised in The Bronx by the late Clara (Goossen) and Emil Jensen. After graduating from Evander Childs High School and Miller Business School in 1938, Ethel worked as a secretary for the Fuller Brush Company, then for South African Iron and Steel from 1943 – 1954. The company was a major steel supplier to the US war effort during WW II. She earned a small pension from them for the past 35 years.

Ethel’s lifelong passion was the performing arts. She was a professional dancer with Frank Small’s Revue, and The Spotlighters, and was selected to perform for troops during WWII in NYC and at various military bases around the US with such headliners as Red Skelton, and later started her own dance studio. She first met her future husband, Eugene Hammond Wicks of St. Albans, Queens, during a performance at a wartime hospital in Atlantic City. They were married in 1950 and had two children, Donald and Claire. Ethel was a past president in the Order of the Eastern Star, President of the Grand Avenue PTA in Uniondale schools, active in Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Baldwin, and Cross of Christ Lutheran Church, Babylon, where she served on the Altar Guild and Community Supper. Later, she worked at National Westminster Bank, Hempstead and volunteered for 5 years at Good Samaritan Hospital, West Islip.

Ethel’s favorite pastimes included sailing and traveling with her husband - especially going cross-country in their van to see the family in Colorado. She loved hosting dinner parties for their wide circles of friends, gardening, and making a variety of crafts. She shared her love of NYC and Broadway through frequent trips with her children, grandchildren, and sister-in-law, Evelyn Wicks, teaching the younger generation how to navigate the bus and subway systems of New York.

Ethel is survived by her children Donald and Teri Wicks of Denver, CO, and Claire and David Simek of West Islip, NY, and her grandchildren Kimberly, Chelsea, Wyatt, Weston and Daisy. A graveside service will be scheduled for a future date. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in celebration of Ethel’s life to Cross of Christ Lutheran Church, 576 Deer Park Ave., Babylon, NY 11702.