Biographie Hickey Thomas-Louis
Obituary of Thomas L. Hickey
South Bend Tribune
16 December 1966
T. L. Hickey Sr., Dies
In Hospital at 80
Thomas L. Hickey
Sr., 80 of 1004 E. St. Vincent St., prominent South Bend building contractor
and civic and business leader, died at 5 p.m. Thursday in St. Joseph’s
Hospital.
He entered the
hospital Dec. 8 after becoming ill, returned to his home for a few days later
and then was hospitalized again Thursday after taking a turn for the worse.
Hickey was president
and board chairman of Thomas L. Hickey, Inc., 403 E. Madison St., the parent
firm of other divisions.
The Hickey family
has been in the building business here since 1845. Mr. Hickey’s father, Louis
A., organized the present firm in 1895, and Hickey became president of the firm
that bears his name in 1913 upon the death of his father.
His firm erected about
two dozen buildings on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, most of the
buildings on the St. Mary’s College campus and had built numerous hospitals in
Indiana and Michigan.
Born in City
Many building
projects in the area are the handiwork of the Hickey firm.
Hickey was born in
South Bend Jan. 27, 1886, and was a life-long resident of the city. He was
married to the former Kathryn B. Hiss Oct. 18, 1911, in St. Joseph’s Catholic
Church.
They were honored
with a high mass in the church on their 50th wedding anniversary
observance Oct. 18, 1961.
He was a director of
numerous business and civic organizations, including the Indiana Club, former
Assn. of Commerce, Contractor’s Assn., St. Joseph Band & Trust Co., the St.
Joseph County Department of Public Welfare, and former member of the board of
trustees of the South Bend Redevelopment Department.
Other organizational
affiliations included former president of the East Side Businessmen’s Club,
member of the executive board of the St. Joseph Valley Boy Scouts of American,
and holder of an honorary life member Silver Beaver Award.
He was a member of
the South Bend Civic Planning Assn., Inc.; a member of the President’s
Committee of the University of Notre Dame and the President’s Committee of St.
Mary’s College, and a director of the Industrial Foundation.
Hickey also was a
Fourth Degree member of the Council 553, Knights of Columbus and former
faithful navigator of the council, and a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic
Church.
Former Church Trustee
He was a former
trustee of the church, former president of its Holy Name Society and a member
of the St. Vincent DePaul Society.
In June and July
1963, Hickey was hospitalized for five weeks at St. Joseph Hospital for
treatment of a pelvis fracture suffered in a fall off a ladder at his summer cottage
on Magician Lake, near Dowagiac.
Hickey especially
cherished his role as godfather of Knute Rockne , Notre Dame’s legendary
football coach, when Rockne converted to Catholicism Nov.25, 1926 [sic – Nov 20,
1925].
Hickey loved Notre
Dame football and in 56 years missed only two home games and attended most of
the games away from the campus.
Hickey was fond of
golfing, fishing and outdoor activity and at one time was the president of the
old Coquillard Golf Club.
Surviving are his
widow, five sons, John P., Wellesley Hills, Mass.; Thomas L. Jr., Donald F.,
Jerry A., and Joseph E., all of South Bend, a daughter, Mrs. Gerald [sic-
Gerard] F. Sarb, Dearborn, Mich., a brother, Marvin M. Hickey, South Bend;
three sisters, Mrs. Eleanor Heston, Lindsey, Calif.; Mrs. Ross Avery, Elkhart,
and Miss Genevieve Hickey, South Bend.
A son, Louis J. was
killed in February 1951, when he was driving to the scene of an accident
skidded on icy pavement on U.S. 20 east of the city and struck a utility pole.
A daughter, Mrs.
Kathleen M. Arnt, died about two years ago.
All his sons
graduated from Notre Dame.
Services at 11 a.m.
Friends may call in
the Hickey Funeral Home after 4 p.m. today.
Funeral services
will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday in Sacred Heart Church on the Notre Dame
campus. Rev. Charles M. Carey, C.S.C., will celebrate the mass and burial will
be in St. Joseph Valley Memorial Park.
Active pallbearers
will be officers of the St. Joseph Band & Trust Co. and honorary
pallbearers will be the board of directors of the bank.
Memorial
contributions may be made to the scholarship fund of the St. Joseph Valley
Notre Dame Club.
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