Keith E. Hickman, 71, of Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, died in Cheyenne on Friday, December 6, 2019. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, December 11, 2019, at Pine Bluffs Community Center with Pastor Dan DeBruyn officiating. Burial will be held in the Pine Bluffs Cemetery. Friends may visit http://www.cantrellfh.com to view the obituary and leave condolences and stories for the family. Memorials may be given in Keith’s memory to the family with a portion going to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. The services for Keith have been entrusted to the Cantrell Funeral Home.
Keith Edward Hickman was born in Kimball on May 3, 1948, the son of Donald and Charlotte (Schmidt) Hickman. He was raised in Bushnell and graduated from the Bushnell High School in 1966. Following high school he attended Fort Dodge Community College in Ft. Dodge, IA. He then transferred to the Denver Automotive School and received his degree in Auto Mechanics.
Keith was married to Betty Lonsdale at the Calvary United Methodist Church in Bushnell on August 11, 1968. They lived in Kimball and Keith worked as a mechanic for Larson Ford. The family then moved to Sidney and he worked for John Deere for 2 years. They lived in Gurley for a short time until moving back to Kimball, where Keith worked for Mosey Equipment, the Case dealer in Kimball. They moved to Pine Bluffs in 1983. He worked for Bi-State Equipment and then Dersham Dairy Farms, and he was working for Pine Bluffs Sand and Gravel at the time of his death.
Keith loved his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. He enjoyed tinkering with things in his shop and was always fixing things for his family and friends. He enjoyed spending time at the lake camping and riding the jet-ski. Keith knew no strangers, and his saying was “strangers are just friends you have not met yet.” He always enjoyed pie at the Village Inn on Wednesdays after his chemo treatments.
Survivors include his mother Charlotte Hickman of Kimball, NE; wife Betty Hickman of Pine Bluffs, WY; children Jennifer (Greg) Reinninger of Harrisburg, NE., Valerie (Gary) Eastman of Pine Bluffs, WY., Brian (Michelle) Hickman of Cheyenne, WY., and Steven (Melissa) Hickman of Bushnell, NE; brothers Ken Hickman of Akron, OH., David Hickman of Kimball, NE., and Dennis (Edna) Hickman of Pine Bluffs, WY; sisters Patricia (Delvin) Tobler of Kimball, NE., and Janice Brown of Liberty, MO; grandchildren Casey Hickman, Carly and Bryce Eastman, Alexanderia, Kelsey, Paige, Brionna, Connor, Jarom, Rylee and Caitlyn Hickman; great grandchildren Jessica, Joshua, Jordan and Rylee James Hickman.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents, father, 1 brother-in-law and 2 sister-in-laws.