Former Illinois State Representative Larry W. Hicks of Mt. Vernon died Tuesday at age 77 from injuries sustained in a fall from a bucket truck in rural Jefferson County.
Hicks was airlifted to St. Louis University Hospital with a head injury but later died. Family members said he was with longtime friend and retired attorney Kent Renshaw when the accident occurred. The two co-owned the bucket trucks for their businesses.
A decorated Huey helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War, Hicks earned multiple commendations for bravery in aerial missions. He went on to serve Jefferson County on the Board before being elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, where he served from 1980 to 1992, including as chairman of the Appropriations Committee. He later worked as a liaison to the Secretary of the Army, a position to which he was appointed by President Bill Clinton.
Hicks also owned and operated Air-Land and Sea, a business that sold ambulances across the Midwest.
A Gathering of Family and Friends will be held Saturday, September 27, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Newell Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon. A memorial service will follow at 3 p.m. with Reverend Frank Gilbert officiating. Inurnment will take place at Oakwood Cemetery in Mt. Vernon at a later date. Memorials may be made in Hicks’s honor to the donor’s charity of choice.
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