Kathryn Hicks

Kathryn Lee (Rippy) Hicks, known by her friends and family as Billie, was born at home on September 18, 1930 to Raymond Richard and Lila Mae Rippy, in southern Illinois. Her father was a farmer, and after working for several other farmers in the area, finally bought his own place outside Huntley, IL, and had dairy cows as well as farming. She remembers sitting under a wagon with her brother Richard, playing and napping as they waited for their folks to get done with the field work. One of the highlights of her high school years was the trip to Washington, DC. with her classmates. She married Leon (Lonny) Leonard Hicks on March 11, 1950. They had 8 children; Sandra Diane, Raymond Lyle, Alison Dawn, William Leonard, Michael Kenneth, Daniel Robert, Leatrice Ann, and Marybeth Susan. They moved from Huntley, IL to Billings, MT in 1970 when Lonny took a teaching job at Eastern Montana State College as a music and vocal teacher. A few years later, they found a country place by Fort Rockvale, near Joliet, with everything Billie wanted: land, a stream, lots of trees, and a big old house that needed lots of work! Billie loved wildlife, and was an avid birdwatcher, with a bird book that she was constantly adding dates and sightings of birds to. She was president of the local chapter of Audubon for several years, and was very active in getting the land and building for the Yellowstone Parks and Recreation center near the Yellowstone River in south Billings. She always had several feeders up near the big bay window in her kitchen, and took part in the annual bird count with Audubon for many years. She was a dedicated hostess, and loved to make others feel at home. Her beautiful blue eyes and pretty smile won over almost everyone she met. She loved to sing, and although she did not have a strong voice, it was a pleasant clear soprano. She was in a church choir for most of her adult life, and had a tender heart and solid belief in the Lord. Her favorite music was the old classical orchestral music, Renaissance music, and she loved the old hymns. It was not unusual to hear her humming them as she went about the house. She loved flowers, especially red roses, and was constantly scaling her yard back to include more flowers, and ROCKS! She would bring home what she considered pretty or unusual rocks to put around her flower beds. It became somewhat of a joke in the family, because she could never seem to keep ahead of the weeds in her flower beds, but would enjoy hours out there, watering and pulling weeds. Her gardens were always beautiful in the spring, but by the time autumn came they usually looked pretty sad. She loved road trips, and always planned them carefully, frugally packing her food and often sleeping in her car. She enjoyed what she called ‘life roads', ones that she had never been on and probably would not go on again. She could sew, knit, crochet and cook. Her cinnamon rolls were good enough to fight over, and her peanut brittle and Spritz cookies were eagerly anticipated by her family and friends at Christmas time. She loved angel food cake, and made it often, then cut it up and put individual pieces in the freezer to enjoy at her leisure. She was an avid reader, and had many, many books, especially about Africa and elephants, which she loved almost as much as she loved birds. She could turn her hand at just about anything, including construction! If it needed fixing, she was the one that usually jumped right on it, including replacing windows, building door casements, and remodeling the kitchen. She passed that ‘I can do it' attitude down to her children! Billie was always physically very healthy, and was proud of the fact that she could go up the stairs two at a time even into her 80's! It was common to see her trotting a circle around the driveway in her later years just to keep active. Although she had polio as a young adult which somewhat affected her shoulders, she was rarely sick, and never had a headache her whole life. Her beloved Lonny passed away of cancer in 1999, and she is survived by brothers Richard (Dick) and Thomas (Pat), her children, 30 grandchildren, and 57 great grandchildren, several great-great grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews, and many other loving family members and friends. Donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to Canyon Creek Memory Care facility in Billings, MT, who did a wonderful job of taking care of Mom over the last year, or to an Alzheimer's research center of your choice. Cremation has taken place, and a memorial service will be held in September.