Max Reese Hickerson

Max Reese Hickerson died on Thursday, May 18, 2017. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn, three children, Deborah Cooper, Ronald Hickerson, and Sarah Shearer, and five grandchildren. He also precedes in death two siblings, Bonnie Lichtenberger and J. Kent Hickerson, and 4 nieces and nephews.

He was born on March 11, 1932 in Vandalia, Illinois to LaVonne and Ronald Hickerson. Max loved God's Word and loved to preach God's Word. After proclaiming his life's calling at age ten, he would later attend Lincoln Christian College and graduate from Ozark Bible College. As a student he served churches in Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas. After graduation, he served as the senior minister of Christian churches in Illinois, Ohio, California, and Texas (Spring Branch Christian Church, Katy Christian Church, and First Christian Church of Houston). Described as the man with "a deep velvet voice," Max preached his first sermon in Longview, Illinois and titled it, A Long View of Longview. From then on he would be cherished for his catchy one-liners: A man is not what he thinks he is, but what he thinks, he is…Closed mouths don't gather feet…My wife is my great humilifier. Carolyn was his faithful wife for 65 years – staying at home with him every Saturday night as he readied for Sunday mornings, listening to him practice each sermon several times (for a total of over 8,500 times during their marriage). She watched him perform many baptisms and almost 3600 weddings; she traveled with him as he spoke at revivals, real-estate conventions and school commencement ceremonies. He preached numerous funeral sermons - often at Waltrip Funeral Home while he was minister at the neighboring Spring Branch Church. Max would also mentor 40 men – his "Timothies" – who now preach and minister at churches across the country. He retired in 2006 after which he continued to serve the Lord as a "Barnabas," encouraging the development of four new churches.

Max's energy was limitless. In the churches he served, Max led numerous construction and renovation projects. He enjoyed sports, playing pick-up softball as a youth in a neighborhood field in Oklahoma with Mickey Mantle. He played basketball in high school, winning the free throw trophy award two years in a row, and then moved on to college basketball. Max also enjoyed gardening and most recently was active in the West University Rotary Club. Yet for all the roles he had in the world – preacher, mentor, non-stop worker – none were treasured more by him than being a loving husband to his wife, father to his children, and grandfather to Jordan Hickerson, Ben Cooper, Hannah Shearer, Abigail Shearer, and David Hickerson.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 3, 2017 at Waltrip Funeral Directors 1415 Campbell Road, Houston, Texas at 2 p.m. with a reception following.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in his name can be sent to Houston Hospice at houstonhospice.org, Ozark Christian College at occ.edu, or the West U Rotary Club Foundation at wurcf.org.