Charles "Chuck" Hicks

Charles "Chuck" Earl Hicks, 87, of New Bloomfield, passed on January 22, 2026 in Columbia, Missouri.

He was born July 30, 1938 in Madison, Wisconsin. His father, a family doctor of the era, made house calls, often getting home late in the evening. Young Chuck often tagged along on his father's visits to spend more time with him.

In high school, he spent summers working on area farms, sometimes sleeping in barns with livestock to be available for early morning work. His dad wanted him to study medicine, and he started at the University of Wisconsin in Madison as a pre-med student but later changed to fisheries and wildlife. His early experience with animals would turn out to be formative.

After graduation, Chuck worked in the Pacific Northwest measuring salmon populations and spent some time in Alaska. He lived on a houseboat in Seattle when beat poetry and jazz was popular in local coffeehouses and spent some time enjoying that scene. Later, he specialized in aquaculture and fisheries management, which he taught at the university level.

In the 1980's Chuck met Sandra Jo Hicks through Chuck's friend, who was, like him, a member of the Elks' Club for many years. Though they had both been married previously, they ended up the love of each other's lives. Chuck was involved in a series of aquaculture-related business ventures which took the two of them to Europe multiple times and to different locations around the U.S.

In the 1990's Sandra's parents were facing serious health issues and Chuck and Sandra moved to the family farm in New Bloomfield, Missouri to help them. After her parents passed, they took up permanent residence in the family farmhouse. While living in Mid- Missouri, Chuck spent many years working for Missouri's Department of Conservation in fisheries and served as an instructor of aquaculture at Lincoln University.

Chuck loved to jog, ride bicycles and motorcycles. His musical tastes skewed toward Classical, blues and jazz. He often played the music he loved on his collection of guitars.

He is survived by his loving wife, Sandra Jo Hicks, his stepson, Michael Salmons and wife Abbey Rinel and a son, Matthew Hicks.

Chuck was preceded in death by his father Earl V. Hicks, his mother Ruth Hicks, and sister Ruth Ann Hicks.

Memorial services will be held at a later date.

Condolences can be left for the family at www.maupinfuneralhome.com