1929
Father
2014
Father John Hickey
October 2, 1929 — November 8, 2014
Father John Hickey: 1929-2014
Amarillo—Father John Hickey, 85, passed away Nov. 8.
A Vigil is scheduled Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7:00pm at St. Martin de Porres Church. Mass will be celebrated Friday, Nov. 14 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Bishop Patrick J. Zurek, presiding, with priests of the Diocese of Amarillo concelebrating. Inurnment will be in Llano Cemetery, Amarillo. Arrangements are by Schooler Funeral Home, 4100 S Georgia, Amarillo, TX.
John Hickey was born on Oct. 2, 1929 in Shawnee, Okla., of Cheyenne Indian descent, the son of Maurice A. Hickey and Cecilia Riley Hickey. He grew up in the Rio Grande Valley in Lyford, in Willacy County. Hickey entered the seminary in 1943 at St. Anthony’s Seminary in San Antonio, where he studied for two years.
After his departure from the seminary, Hickey served in the U.S. Navy before he attended the University of Texas at Austin and St. Mary’s College in San Antonio, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Following his graduation, he was a school teacher for 34 years, eventually retiring from the Perryton Independent School District.
With guidance from then-Bishop Leroy T. Matthiesen, Father Brendan Sherry and Monsignor Norbert Kuehler, Hickey returned to the seminary, this time at Holy Angels Seminary in Cromwell, CT. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Matthiesen on May 25, 1996 at St. Laurence Cathedral (now St. Laurence Church), Amarillo.
Father Hickey’s assignments included Holy Family Church, Nazareth; St. John Nepomucene Church, Hart; Holy Name of Jesus Church, Happy; and St. Theresa’s Church, Panhandle. His final assignment was at St. Martin de Porres, Amarillo, where he served as pastor from July 14, 2005 to Aug. 31, 2009. He also served as a part-time chaplain for the Baptist St. Anthony’s Health System and for five-and-a-half years, celebrating Mass and teaching RCIA classes at both the Nathaniel J. Neal and William P. Clements Units of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Amarillo.
After Father Hickey was granted retirement on Sept. 1, 2009, he headed south to Corpus Christi where he resided at Our Lady of Corpus Christi College, doing missionary work with prisons, convents and hospitals.
Father Hickey was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Joanne Sisson and Helen Dieter; a brother, Maurice A. Hickey Jr.; two sisters-in-law, Chie J. Hickey and Anna Ruth Hickey; and a brother-in-law, Raymond J. Mikolajczak.
Survivors include two sisters, Mary Micka of Austin and Ethleen Mikolajczak of Deer Park; three brothers, Kelvin L. Hickey and Dennis M. Hickey, both of Pasadena, Tx. and Donald J. Hickey of Richmond, Tx.; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Amarillo—Father John Hickey, 85, passed away Nov. 8.
A Vigil is scheduled Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7:00pm at St. Martin de Porres Church. Mass will be celebrated Friday, Nov. 14 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Bishop Patrick J. Zurek, presiding, with priests of the Diocese of Amarillo concelebrating. Inurnment will be in Llano Cemetery, Amarillo. Arrangements are by Schooler Funeral Home, 4100 S Georgia, Amarillo, TX.
John Hickey was born on Oct. 2, 1929 in Shawnee, Okla., of Cheyenne Indian descent, the son of Maurice A. Hickey and Cecilia Riley Hickey. He grew up in the Rio Grande Valley in Lyford, in Willacy County. Hickey entered the seminary in 1943 at St. Anthony’s Seminary in San Antonio, where he studied for two years.
After his departure from the seminary, Hickey served in the U.S. Navy before he attended the University of Texas at Austin and St. Mary’s College in San Antonio, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Following his graduation, he was a school teacher for 34 years, eventually retiring from the Perryton Independent School District.
With guidance from then-Bishop Leroy T. Matthiesen, Father Brendan Sherry and Monsignor Norbert Kuehler, Hickey returned to the seminary, this time at Holy Angels Seminary in Cromwell, CT. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Matthiesen on May 25, 1996 at St. Laurence Cathedral (now St. Laurence Church), Amarillo.
Father Hickey’s assignments included Holy Family Church, Nazareth; St. John Nepomucene Church, Hart; Holy Name of Jesus Church, Happy; and St. Theresa’s Church, Panhandle. His final assignment was at St. Martin de Porres, Amarillo, where he served as pastor from July 14, 2005 to Aug. 31, 2009. He also served as a part-time chaplain for the Baptist St. Anthony’s Health System and for five-and-a-half years, celebrating Mass and teaching RCIA classes at both the Nathaniel J. Neal and William P. Clements Units of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Amarillo.
After Father Hickey was granted retirement on Sept. 1, 2009, he headed south to Corpus Christi where he resided at Our Lady of Corpus Christi College, doing missionary work with prisons, convents and hospitals.
Father Hickey was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Joanne Sisson and Helen Dieter; a brother, Maurice A. Hickey Jr.; two sisters-in-law, Chie J. Hickey and Anna Ruth Hickey; and a brother-in-law, Raymond J. Mikolajczak.
Survivors include two sisters, Mary Micka of Austin and Ethleen Mikolajczak of Deer Park; three brothers, Kelvin L. Hickey and Dennis M. Hickey, both of Pasadena, Tx. and Donald J. Hickey of Richmond, Tx.; and numerous nieces and nephews.
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