Georgeana Hicks

Georgeana (Oertel) Hicks went home to be with the Lord on Sunday, July 6th, 2014 at the age of 71. Georgie was born in Ohio on March 8, 1943 to George and Mary Lee (Griffith) Oertel. She was greeted in Heaven by her parents, George and Mary. She was the youngest child of four. She was welcomed home by her sister Barbara, her "favorite and only brother" Charles (Ducky - and she was so proud to tell you that he was a professional baseball player for the Baltimore Orioles!), (Barbara) and her nephew Brian Flanery. She also is survived by her sister, Glenda Rowley (Bill), niece Patricia Flanery, Mike Hurst (Fran) and Cynthia Larsen (John). Georgie and Elden had five children, LeeAnne, Sue (Ed), David, Steven (Shirley) and Betsy. She is also survived by her grandchildren Melissa (Nick), Matthew (Le'Essa), Adam (Nicole), Jennifer (Matt), Stacie (Andrew), Liz, Emme, Shawn, Aaron, Jennette and Steven (April). She was also the "Grandma Great" to Kemper, Ayden, Jackson, Olivia, Liam, Annabelle, Abigail, Hailey and Nevaeh. Georgie was preceded in death her very special nephew, Brian Flanery, her precious great grandchild Kennedy and many other loving relatives. She was anxiously awaiting the birth of another great grandchild, Carter who is due in August. Georgie had many nieces, great nieces, nephews and great nephews whom she loved dearly and took great pride in. One of the things that she taught all of her grandkids was this: if they ever found a penny they were to pick it up and put it in their shoe and say out loud "my grandma loves me". She was the beloved caregiver to many children and adults in her lifetime. It was often said that "she never met a stranger." Her favorite hobby was watching the Detroit Tiger's with her grandkids. She spent most Friday nights playing Skip-Bo (which by the way she always won) and eating pizza! Georgie loved to spend summers in Pentwater, Michigan with her family. We loved to walk on the beach, spend money we did not have and eat lots of yummy food. She also loved Disney World. One summer, she insisted that we push her around the park in a wheelchair while she ate a Mickey Mouse Ice Cream. Georgie was working on fulfilling her bucket list and loved traveling with her kids and grandkids. One of the most important things in her life was her relationship with Christ. She was a member of River of Life Christian Church in Oxford. She loved to sit in the second row at church so she did not miss anything important that Pastor Larry was teaching. We had many discussions on eternity, salvation and the importance of "being right" with God. There is no doubt in anyone's mind that she is now enjoying being in the presence of God, worshipping, reuniting with her loved ones and has been restored to her "heavenly" body. Georgie battled the addiction of alcoholism. She had been sober for 23 years at the time of her death. One of her biggest accomplishments (other than her family) was her sobriety. We would laugh and giggle about some of her past experiences but she always reminded us that her sobriety was "one day at a time" and she was very active in Alcoholic's Anonymous. She worked the AA Hotline for many years and continued to be active in the AA community. She taught all of her children the 12 Steps and lived them daily. She met many special friends through this group and you know who you are! On many occasions, she told all five of us that she would not be "recovered" until she went home to Jesus. Congratulations, mama, you did it! Georgie had many lifelong friends but a few that we would like to mention are, Denna Comps (who, by the way had to clean her apartment twice a week while she supervised!) David Hengehold, Theda and Tom Dimon, Sharon Griffith, Becky Fogler, Helen Callahan, Pam Collins, Pat Shipp, Gladys Kilgore, Cheryl Wright, Ruthann and John Kellum, Brian and Linda Graham, Gloria Stiel, Geri Dowd, Lori Lines and Pat Carroll. Thank you all for loving our mama and remaining faithful friends. If we left anyone out, please know that it wasn't intentional. Our mom loved all of her doctors, but especially Imad Mansoor, M.D her primary care physician. A few others that we wanted to mention are Drs. Safa Kassab, Matt Bahu, Arthur Manoli, II, and Jonathan Zaidan, They all took such great care of her and loved her like a sister not just a patient. As a family, we want to thank all of you for your loving care - not just medicine but your genuine friendships. Although it seems to be impossible that we will have to live our lives without her, we know that she would want everyone of us to "get a hold of ourselves" and go on, not too quickly, but nevertheless go on! As her family, we cannot wrap our brains around the fact that she is gone. She touched so many lives. She had the type of love that was unconditional to all of us. She wanted to make a difference in the world and just by being "Georgie", she did! Your mama has been waiting for you for 52 years! Enjoy your reunion and worshiping our Savior. Please wait for us at Heaven's Gates. There will be a luncheon at Hope Senior Apartments immediately following the funeral. In lieu of flowers, Georgie would have loved to have you donate to her church, River of Life Christian Church.