Dennis L. Hickmon, 70, Marshalltown
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A graveside service for Dennis L. Hickmon was held Saturday, May 22, 2021, at Pleasant View Cemetery in Hartley. Terry Mabe was the speaker. Military graveside rites were conducted by Hartley American Legion, Arthur W. Kirchhoff Post #288. Hartley Funeral Home assisted with the arrangements.
Dennis LeRoy Hickmon was born in Sioux City on Feb. 9, 1950, to Leo R. and Carol E. Hickmon. He received his early education at Jackson, Neb., and graduated from Everly High School in Everly. After graduation, he married Fern Kuehler and welcomed a daughter, Christine. He enlisted in the U.S. Army, after which he was sent to Vietnam where he was a crew chief on a Huey helicopter with the 1st Air Cav unit for nine months. After his discharge, he married Mary Minard and welcomed his second child, David.
Dennis went on to graduate from Buena Vista College where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a minor in Art. He taught for a short time before returning to the military with the Iowa National Guard where he served as a Unit Administrator at the Fort Dodge Armory.
In 1986, he met Kimberly Rosalez and her two sons, Nathan and Ethan, whom he welcomed as his own. They were married six months later. In October of 1987 they welcomed a son, Andrew. In December of 1988 they welcomed a daughter, the baby of the family, Caitlin. They shared 12 years of marriage.
In 1987, he returned to active duty with the U.S. Army where he served in the Military Police with duty stations in Kansas, Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Panama, Korea, Cuba and Germany. After retiring from the military with multiple awards for his exemplary and distinguished service, as well as multiple citations from his superiors, he worked in Junction City, Kan. as a jailer. After a major medical complication, he was moved to the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown, where he lived for the past eight years of his life.
Dennis had avid interests in firearms, fishing, carpentry, as well as history, with his greatest interest and love being his family. Dennis went out of his way to help those in need, a trait he instilled in his children.
He departed this life on Dec. 31, 2020 at the Iowa Veterans Home, at the age of 70. He was preceded in death by his parents; his sisters: Cecil Pannell, Patricia Darnell, Carol Haga and Kay Darnell; and his beloved brother, Kenneth Hickmon. He was an outstanding soldier, beloved brother, uncle, father and grandfather. He will be forever missed.
His memory will live on in his children: Christine Larson, of Des Moines; David Hickmon, of Florida; Andrew and Ashley Hickmon, of Gowrie; Caitlin Hickmon, of Gowrie; Nathan and Staci Esteras, of Des Moines; and Ethan and Rebecca Rosalez, of South Carolina; his 13 grandchildren; his sisters: Mary Cooley, of Lincoln, Neb.; twin sister, Denise and her husband, Dennis Nurse, of Hartley; and Jean and her husband, Bob Brewer, of Ponca, Neb.; as well as a multitude of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
