Philip "Bubba" Jerome Fick

Philip was born January 5th, 1954 in Appleton City, Missouri to Jerome and Marie (Sickman).

He was known to everyone as "Bubba". Bubba was certified in HVAC and worked for the Kansas City Water treatment department and retired in 2009.

In 1996, Bubba picked up the hobby of barbequing, but that soon turned into owning a restaurant and winning awards under the name, "Bubba's Gotta Top Secret." The Kansas City Barbeque Society awarded Bubba "Rookie of the Year", "Rib of the Year", and third overall for "Team of the Year" when he received five perfect scores. Bubba also won the Grand Champion honors at the Marshall, Missouri contest and the Reserve Grand Champion Title in Omaha. In 1997, Bubba participated in 14 KCBS sanctioned contests and won the "Reserve Grand Champion" in three contests and was ranked in the top 10 finalist position in 12. Bubba was also awarded the "Tri Triple Winner" for the Marshall, Slater, and Waverly contests. To add even more to Bubba's barbeque accomplishments, he placed 35th overall in the 1997 American Royal Barbeque contest out of 333 other teams. He also won 4th place honors in the Royal Invitation, and 2nd place overall in the American Royal Side Dish contest. At the KCBS annual awards dinner, Bubba earned 2nd place overall for "Team of the Year", 2nd place overall in the pork category, and 4th place overall in the brisket category. He also earned the "Best Beef" award from the Nebraska Beef Council. Bubba also competed in the Jack Daniels World Championship BBQ Invitational Only Contest where he went on to finish 6th place overall, winning awards in 4 out of 5 entries. He won 5th place for ribs, 8th place for brisket, 9th place for pork butt, and a perfect score and 1st place for dessert. Bubba attributed his success to lots of hard work, top tier cooking equipment, quality meats, and respecting the competitors he was up against as well as just having a good time. He went on in 1998 to keep competing and to also start catering his award winning barbeque.

Bubba loved to deer hunt and fish. If you were available, he was calling you to go fishing.

Bubba spent the last 18 years of his life in Maryville, Missouri developing and packaging his own Bubbas Blend BBQ seasonings and sharing his BBQ know-how with everyone. All the while asking for help with little projects or a companion for a hunting or fishing excursion.

He was preceded in death by a brother Keith, and his parents Jerome and Marie. He leaves behind sisters Jessica (Don), Gail (Dave), and Brenda. Nephews John, Josh, Logan and niece Maggie.

Bubba never met a stranger. He had a heart of gold and a positive attitude. He will be greatly missed.

Celebration of Bubba's Life will be August 2nd, 2026 from 12p to 5p at 130 North Depot Street Maryville, Missouri 64468 at Clear Creek Grille and Bar with a seafood boil following at Bubba's request.