Harry Roger Hicks Sr., War Native and Army Veteran, Dies at 81
Born on Pearl Harbor's third anniversary in War, WV, Army veteran Harry Roger Hicks Sr. died March 25 at 81, survived by wife Dianna after 55 years of marriage.
Harry Roger Hicks Sr. was born December 7, 1944, the third anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, in War, a McDowell County town then at the center of the Pocahontas Coalfields, where the mines had shaped nearly every family for generations. He died March 25, 2026, at WellSpan York Hospital, surrounded by his family. He was 81.
The son of Ervin Hicks Sr. and Fronie Madeline Hicks, Harry came of age in a War that still carried the weight of wartime production. He chose the military path that many young McDowell County men took: service in the United States Army, extended later through the National Guard. His civilian career followed a different kind of infrastructure, spending most of his working years as an electrical technician for various telephone companies.
That career eventually carried him north to Taneytown, Maryland, where he built a lasting second chapter in life. He became a Boy Scout troop leader in Silver Run and held membership in Taneytown American Legion Post 120, where his Army service connected him to a community of fellow veterans. His personal pursuits stayed rooted in what the southern West Virginia hills had given him: deer hunting, chopping wood, camping, and traveling with family and friends.
At the center of his life was Dianna L. Hicks, his wife of 55 years. Together they raised sons Harry R. Hicks II and Matthew E. Hicks. Matthew's wife Trudy and grandchildren Christian, Alyssa, and Emma Hicks survive him, as do sisters Shirley Humphrey and husband Arlie, and Frida Johnson and husband James, along with several nieces and nephews. His parents preceded him in death.
HOW TO PAY RESPECTS
The family will receive friends Tuesday, April 7, 2026, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at Pritts Funeral Home and Chapel, 412 Washington Road, Westminster, Maryland. Funeral services follow Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at 11 a.m. at the same location. Interment will take place at St. Mary's United Church of Christ Cemetery in Silver Run, Maryland.
Online condolences and memories may be shared with the family at prittsfuneralhome.com.
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