William "Bill" Orville Hickok

William Orville Hickok passed away peacefully November 26, 2025, at Chestnut Hill in Highlands, North Carolina, a town he loved and where he was a weekly contributor to the local Highlands Paper as a cartoonist.

“Bill” was born December 21, 1946, in Goshen, New York, a son of the late William O. Hickok VI and Elizabeth Chace Hickok of Goshen, New York. He attended Indian Mountain School in Connecticut and graduated from Goshen Central High School.

Bill graduated with a BS Degree in Business and Accounting from Western State University in Gunnison, Colorado and moved to Crested Butte, CO where he started the very successful Hickok Construction Company, building homes, restaurants, and banks in town and at the Crested Butte Mountain Resort. An avid skier and hiker he was a volunteer ski patrol, member of the Crested Butte Fire Department and helped start the local newspaper, the Crested Butte Pilot.

Among the many milestones of his life, he was General Superintendent for the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida, designing classrooms for at risk children and main buildings. Bill also created and built one of the first recreational one-man rowing sculls, was a licensed pilot, a successful cartoonist and general contractor both in Florida and Colorado. He also was one of the originators of the first Crested Butte Mountain Run – Town to Top and back.

Bill is survived by his two cherished sons, William O. Hickok VIII (Jamee Hickok) and Ford Kingsley Hickok (Rhiannon Hickok) and four grandchildren. His sisters, Ann Meia (Harley Meia) of Macon, Georgia and Louise Snyder of Darien, Connecticut and a nephew Neil Macdonald Snyder of New York City and niece Johanna Snyder Mahoney of Darien, CT.

A small family service will be held in the garden at the Church of Ascension, Clearwater, FL.

Online condolences can be left at www.bryantgrantfuneralhome.com

Bryant-Grant Funeral Home & Crematory is honored to serve the Hickok family.