Submitted by: Dan Rich

South Bend Tribune 12/8/1999

Gerald A. Hickey

June 9, 1919 - Dec. 5, 1999

Gerald A. "Jerry" Hickey, 80, died on Sunday, Dec. 5, in his home.

A lifelong resident of South Bend, Ind., he was born on June 9, 1919, to Thomas Louis and Kathryn B. Hiss Hickey. Mr. Hickey attended St. Joseph Grade School and graduated from South Bend Central High School. In 1941 Mr. Hickey graduated from the University of Notre Dame.

From 1941 to 1943 he served as civil engineer for the Tennessee Valley Authority Dam Project in Paducah, Ky. An armed services veteran, Mr. Hickey was a second lieutenant in the United States Navy Seabee Unit 553, serving in the Philippines for two years.

On Oct. 11, 1947, he married Rosemarie Lubbers in St. Joseph Church, South Bend.

Mr. Hickey was involved in the construction business for over seventy years, beginning his career as a water boy, then as a brick mason, civil engineer, and estimator for the Hickey Construction Company, later becoming president and chairman of the board of that firm. For the past eight years he served as chief estimator for the Reinke Construction Corporation. Mr. Hickey, along with his brother Joseph, was instrumental in the early downtown revitalization efforts, converting the Civil War era H.D. Lee Mercantile Company building on East Madison Street into construction offices in 1965. The riverfront grounds of the property were remade into a park-like setting, paving the way for what is now an extensive riverfront greenway in South Bend.

Mr. Hickey was president of the Notre Dame Civil Engineers Club from 1939 to 1941, was Jaycees Man of the Year in 1954, served as United Way Chairman in 1970, and president of the Urban Coalition in 1972. He won first place in the St. Joseph County Spelling Bee in his elementary school days. An avid tennis player, Mr. Hickey was a member of the "World Fixers" tennis club.

Mr. Hickey is survived by his wife, Rosemarie; three daughters, Karen Hickey Voll of Rogers, Ark., Maureen Hickey Ervin of Woodbury, Minn., and Sheila Hickey Burke of Minneapolis, Minn.; and three sons, Michael (Guru Bandhu Singh Khalsa) Hickey of Wasilla, Alaska, Patrick W. Hickey, Sr., of Asheville, N.C., and Jerry P. Hickey of Chicago, Ill.; brothers, Thomas L. Hickey and Joseph E. Hickey, both of South Bend, Donald F. Hickey of Westchester, Pa., John P. Hickey of Dover, Mass., and a sister, Patricia Hickey Sarb of Dearborn, Mich. Surviving grandchildren include Patrick and Brian Hickey of Asheville, N.C., Anna and Maggie Burke of Minneapolis, and Dev Dharm Khalsa of Wasilla.

He was preceded in death by a brother, Louis J. Hickey, and by a sister, Kathleen Arnt, both of South Bend.

Visitation will be from 3 to 7 p.m. today, Dec. 8, at the Hickey Funeral Home, 17131 Cleveland Road, where a wake service will be held at 4 p.m.

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 9, in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the Notre Dame campus, conducted by the Rev. Robert Pelton, CSC. Burial will follow at Cedar Grove Cemetery on the campus.

Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of St. Joseph County or to the Women's Care Center.