John was born in Springfield, MO to Charles Eugene Hicks and Mildred (Heald) McHone. He graduated from Ames High School in 1957 and from Iowa State University in 1963 with a degree in geology. John always loved aviation and flight. He took flying lessons as soon as he was old enough, and he made his first solo flight when he was still a teenager. While at Iowa State, he was in the Army ROTC program, and after graduation he reported to active duty and pilot training at the US Army Aviation School at Fort Rucker, AL. His military duty included a tour in Vietnam where he flew a Cessna L-19E "Bird Dog" as a Forward Air Controller. Following his military service he worked for Northwest Airlines as a pilot and instructor for 29 years until his retirement in 1996. As much as John loved flying, he loved retirement as well because it gave him more time to pursue his hobby of restoring and showing classic cars. At one time he owned two beautifully restored "street rods" - a 1957 Ford Fairlane and a 1953 Buick Skylark - along with his father-in-law's 1972 Pontiac Grandville.
John is survived by his wife of 44 years, Diane, his sons Greig (Connie) and Keith (Elizabeth), his sister Donna Krahmer (Bruce), granddaughters Shay Oneski (Robert) and Ava Grace Hicks, and his great-granddaughter Hailey Oneski. He also leaves behind an aunt and numerous cousins and nieces, each of whom were very important to him. He was preceded in death by his parents, his stepfather Raymond McHone, an infant son Dean, and a daughter Dana.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Emerald Heights, 10901 176th Circle NE, Redmond, WA on Saturday, July 20 at 3:00 pm.
For those who wish, the family suggests rememberances to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (www.theaft.org) Radnor Station Building 2, Suite 320, 290 King of Prussia Road, Radnor, PA 19087, the Seattle Humane Society, or any other no-kill shelter or rescue organization of your choice.
Friends and relatives are invited to share memories and to sign the family's on-line guest book on this website.
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