Wallace Lee Hickson

Wallace Lee “Wally” Hickson, age 88, passed away peacefully in Caldwell, Texas, on December 1, 2025.  Wallace was born on December. 25, 1936, in College Station, TX and graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School in Bryan, TX. After graduation, Wallace joined the Army and served with distinction from 1956 to 1958, in the infantry and the Army Rifle Corps, where he was awarded The Certificate of Outstanding Marksmanship on October 24, 1958. When he returned from serving in Germany, he began dating Peggy; they married on December, 19, 1958.

Wallace began working for General Telephone & Electric after the Army. He worked for GTE for 38 years, serving as a telephone repairman and troubleshooter. Even after he retired, Wallace continued to repair phone lines for friends in and around Caldwell.

Wallace had three hobbies: Quarter Horses, fast pitch softball, and deer hunting. He trained, rode, and competed in Quarter Horse events for over 50 years. Wallace, known as Wally, was also a fiercely competitive pitcher in the area’s men’s fast pitch softball community, known for a curve ball that looked like it was rolling off a table, and a rise ball that defied gravity. When age prevented him from playing softball, Mr. Wally umpired for the Caldwell Youth Baseball League. Wallace loved working with the young baseball players. He saw his role as umpire, teacher and coach. And when fall came, Wallace became focused on deer hunting. He didn’t just hunt deer; he studied white-tail deer. Wallace became a self-taught expert on deer: their movements, their growth, and the secret to getting “the big one.”

Wallace is survived by daughter Laura (Brad) Vestal, son Brian (Lori) Hickson, sister Cynthia “Cindy,” Maberry, granddaughters Audrey and Claire Vestal, and step-granddaughter Brittnay (Will) Stone, and step-grandson Blake (Haley) Graham, great grandson Graham Stone and numerous nieces and nephews.. He is preceded in death by wife Peggy Jo (Bolton) Hickson, brothers Joe, Orville, William “Pat,” and Johnny Hickson, sister Barbara Sue Stapp, and parents Johnie and Desdia (Sanders) Hickson.

A graveside service will be held on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 10:00am in Wheelock, TX. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Burleson County Cowboy Church on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 3:00pm. Family and friends are invited to come and share memories of Wallace. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Burleson County Cowboy Church 300 CR 169, Caldwell, TX 77836 or to Caldwell Youth Baseball, Jackie Charanza 209 East Fawn, Caldwell, TX 77836.