Dallas Ray Ricker

Born on July 21, 1935 in Camp Creek, Tennessee, he was the youngest of eight siblings, all of whom predeceased him. He joined the U.S. Marines at the age of 19. He had duty stations in Hawaii, at Quantico, and he served three tours in Vietnam. Later he served as a drill instructor at Pensacola Naval Air Station for new pilots, then at Eighth and I in Washington DC, training the silent drill team, and the Marines who served at the White House and Camp David.

In 1959, his daughter Sharon was born in Virginia. In 1976 Dallas married Sylvia, who had two children, Cindy and Jeff. They established a home in Northern Virginia. After retirement from the Marines, Dallas ran a security guard company, Scott Security, in Maryland.

In the mid 1980s, he returned to his home state of Tennessee with the idea to build a competitive horse arena. Horses never raced there, but he built a track which became the Dallas Ricker Complex. It would, in years to come, accommodate motorcycles, ATV’s, Legend cars, and go karts.

Dallas was a strict parent, but when his grandchildren began to arrive, he softened considerably. Sharon‘s children Tom and Ally arrived in 1989 and 1992. He was a joyful Pappa who would much rather be playing with his grandkids than interacting with adults.

In 2001, Dallas and Sylvia moved to Birmingham to be near Cindy and her husband and their new baby girl Leighton. In 2003, grandson Camden also arrived. Dallas continued to delight in being a Pappa, allowing those grandchildren to do all manner of things he never allowed his children to do.

In Birmingham, Dallas and a new neighbor planted a large garden on land near their home. For the next 20 years, Dallas grew many vegetables, most notably an overabundance of tomatoes and green beans. If a few plants were good, more were better. He sold a few, but mostly he gave them away or asked Mamma to can them. Their green beans are a family legend. He was happiest while he was in the garden, or the horseshoe pit, in the hot Alabama sun.

As a former Marine, Dallas was passionate about military veterans, especially homeless vets. He worked tirelessly to help, raising money and collecting belongings and necessities to furnish apartments he helped organize for them.

Dallas is survived by his wife, Sylvia; daughter, Sharon Ricker; daughter, Cindy Hood-Siegal (Stuart); son, Jeff Hood (Aviva); grandchildren, Tom Jacobi (Bailey), Ally Jacobi (Rob Maffei), Leighton Siegal, Camden Siegal, Ashley Hood, and Zachary Hood; and great-granddaughter, Hannah Jacobi. May he rest in peace.

Visitation will be at North Shelby Baptist Church, 4100 Belcher Drive, Birmingham, AL 35242, on Monday, January 12, 2026, from 10-11 a.m., followed by A Service of Remembrance for Mr. Ricker at 11 a.m. at the church.

The Gravesite Committal will begin at 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday, January 14, 2026 at Alabama National Cemetery, 3133 Highway 119, Montevallo, AL 35115.