William Almeron Wickham

William Almeron Wickham - Peacefully died in his home in Cape Coral, FL on July 16, 2021, surrounded by love and light. Born in Woodbury, NJ, on September 17, 1944 to William and Evelyn Hynes Wickham, he was a graduate of Rutgers University and US Army military veteran. Upon discharge, Bill moved to Columbus, where we worked for the State of Ohio and then started his own accounting practice, W.A. Wickham & Associates, which he later sold to a major accounting firm. From there, he became a managing partner of the Columbus-based marketing and advertising company then known as Shelly Berman Communicators with his dear friends Shelly Berman and Ed Razek. In the early 1990’s, upon Shelly’s retirement, Bill became the Chairman/CEO and owner of SBC Advertising which he sold in 2005. Under his leadership at SBC, the agency grew to one of the area’s largest and most successful full-service marketing and advertising companies. Beyond his masterful guidance of SBC, Bill will be most remembered as a mentor and generous, caring friend to literally hundreds of young, wide-eyed, eager marketing and creative novices, as well as seasoned industry pros. Post SBC, Bill coached executives and private business owners in multiple industries in the Columbus area. His financial and marketing expertise was widely sought over the decades as evidenced by his position as a member of the board of Big Lots, Inc., Elford, Inc., Star Leasing, ExpressMed, and Marburn Academy. For many years, Bill was an avid and talented golfer. One of the highlights of his personal life was his induction to, and long-standing membership in, The Golf Club in New Albany, OH. He thoroughly enjoyed the course there, almost as much as the camaraderie with his fellow members. Since he was a young boy, Bill had a love affair with boating. Over the years, he owned many different boats and made countless memories with family and friends while on the water. Undoubtedly, his greatest adventure was as Captain of his boat “Free Willy” during a 3-week excursion from Ft. Myers through the Bahamas and back. What made this trip so special was that his son, Bruce, and dear friend, Denny Riga, were there to share in the adventure. Bill composed a Captain’s Log of the entire trip which will forever remain atop the list of treasures he left us, as well as a children’s book of the night sky which he wrote for his beloved grandchildren. In 2006, Bill married the long-time love of his life, Melanie. Throughout the 22 years prior to their marriage and the nearly 15 years since, Bill and Mel lived life to the fullest and built unmeasurable amounts of wonderful memories with each other, family and friends. Partners in every sense of the word, their love was truly magical and inspirational. Bill is survived by Mel, his cherished son Bruce (Amy), his bonus son Brandon Woisin (Tania), his sister Elaine Rifkin (Erik), his nephews Scott Rifkin (Kris) and Jason Rifkin (Jill), and his grandchildren who brought him so much joy Jackson, Cooper, Cali and Logan. A private family memorial will take place on his boat in Ft. Myers, FL, with his ashes spread at the site of his marriage to Melanie on the Caloosahatchee River. A public celebration will be held in Columbus to be announced at a later time. Memorials in Bill’s name may be made to The KiDDS Foundation, 5071 Forest Drive, Suite A, New Albany, OH 43054 or Hope Hospice at www.hopehcs.org. Online condolences can be made to the family at www.kiserfh.com.