DR. HORACE W. RICKS
Oct. 6, 1924-Feb. 18, 2016
Dr. Horace Wilton Ricks, 91, Raleigh, was called home Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016, to the loving arms of Jesus Christ his Lord, while surrounded by his family, at Rex Healthcare.
Dr. Ricks was born in Wayne County Oct. 6, 1924, to the late Claude C. Ricks Sr. and Effie Woodard Ricks.
He graduated from Grantham High School in 1942, and later that summer, went to work with Weil's in Goldsboro.
In 1943, Dr. Ricks began working with Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co.
A veteran of World War II, he served in the United States Navy in the South Pacific Theater until his honorable discharge in 1946.
After returning from the war, Dr. Ricks married the former Nettie Duncan of Newport News, Va., and later entered Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C., where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1950.
Upon graduation, Dr. Ricks began pastoring at Princeton and Sardis Baptist churches from 1950 to 1954, and he continued as pastor of Princeton Baptist Church for 28 years.
While at Princeton, he received his Master of Divinity at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary at Wake Forest.
He served as secretary and chairman of the Johnston Baptist Conference, and was the Associational Royal Ambassador counselor of the Johnston Association.
Following his years of service at Princeton Baptist Church, Dr. Ricks served as director of missions for Johnston Baptist Association until his retirement in 1997.
One of his greatest accomplishments was the honorary doctorate degree in theology that he received from Campbell University.
No challenge was too great, no soul too lost, no day too dark, that Horace would not pour his heart into to save. To know him, was to witness a rare blend of kindness, strength, independence, humor and love. He will be remembered every day.
A service to celebrate Dr. Ricks' life and to give witness to his faith in Jesus Christ will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016, at Selma Baptist Church in Selma, N.C., of which he was a member, with the Rev. Steve Kirk officiating. Interment will follow in Wayne Memorial Park in Goldsboro with military honors.
The family will receive friends Monday, Feb. 22, 2016, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Seymour Funeral Home, 1300 Wayne Memorial Drive in Goldsboro.
Dr. Ricks is survived by his wife of 69 years, Nettie Duncan Ricks; children, Emily Ricks Bell and husband, Robert Bell, of Cary, Timothy Ross Ricks and wife, Margarita Isabel Ricks, of Plantation, Fla., and David Mark Ricks and wife, Janice Reneau Ricks, of Frisco, Texas; grandchildren, Heather Bell Davis and husband, Tripp, Alison Bell and husband, Chuck Robinson, and Meredith Bell Hughes and husband, Daniel; and six great-grandchildren, Emily, Anna, Eliza, Aubrey, Miles and Miller.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sisters, Mildred Scott, Ruby Sutton, Mozelle Gurley and Elizabeth Thigpen; and brothers, Raymond Ricks and C.C. Ricks Jr.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given in memory of Dr. Ricks to the Alzheimer's Association Eastern North Carolina Chapter, 3739 National Drive, Suite 110, Raleigh, N.C., 27612.
Dr. Ricks' family would like to acknowledge the staff of Pruitt Health on Lake Wheeler Road in Raleigh, as well as the friends, caregivers, nurses and physicians, who had a profound impact on the quality of Horace's life in recent years.
Special thanks go to Dr. Jamshed Khan and the Palliative Care Team at Rex Hospital; together they demonstrated what constitutes excellent medical care.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.seymourfuneralhome.com.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on February 21, 2016 12:09 PM