John Vickery

1939 - 2021

John Vickery

March 4, 1939 - Oct. 29, 2021

John Preston Vickery, a lifelong Hubbard rancher, died peacefully at the Vickery homeplace surrounded by his family after a five-year bout with cancer. John Preston Vickery was born in the Cottonwood Community at the Vickery Homeplace to John Burton Vickery and Mamie Ruth Vardeman Vickery on March 4, 1939. He passed from this Earth in the same home that he was born in, on October 29, 2021.

John graduated from Hubbard High School in 1957. He had a scholarship to play football at Texas Tech University, but a back injury prevented him from playing. While attending Texas Tech he met Patricia Gale Brookey and they were married on September 20, 1963. After graduating with the class of 1965, with a Bachelor's of Agricultural Science, John and Pat moved to Waco. John worked for Allstate Insurance and then Southwest Chemical while living in Waco. John and Pat moved to Malone in 1974. John worked at Riverside/Terra Chemical in Hillsboro and then partnered with Roger Shronk in Hillsboro for a short time. He and Pat opened John Vickery Fertilizer in Malone in 1980.

While in Malone, John was an active member and the Fire Chief of the Malone Fire Department. He was also School Board President for Malone ISD. John was a member and Past Master of Hubbard City Lodge #530, a member of the Waco Scottish Rite and Waco Grand Karem Shrine. He was a founding member and longtime president of the Cottonwood Cemetery Association of Hubbard. He was also a member of the Texas Ranger Association Foundation. John was an accomplished pilot and flew all over the United States.

After retiring from the fertilizer business John and Pat moved to the Vickery homeplace and continued ranching. John was an avid outdoorsman and when he was not working you could find him hunting or fishing surrounded by friends and family. One of his greatest pleasures was watching his loved ones catch their first fish or shoot their first deer. John built a lake on the Vickery Ranch for his children and grandchildren to fish and swim, and cultivated many hunting spots whether it be for quail, dove, wild boar, or deer. Everyone that knew him could expect a laugh or practical joke and John was well known for his many sayings: "Watch and you might learn something", "Choose your friends wisely", "If you are going to do something, do it right the first time", "I've had worse than that on my eye", "Boy, you got a lot to learn", and "If you are going to be a bear, be a grizzly bear."

John was preceded in death by his parents, John and Mamie Vickery; father and mother-in-law, Coyle and Iva Brookey; a son-in-law, David Keith Patterson; brother-in-law, Don Prue; and niece, Tracey Anderson. John is survived by his wife, Pat; daughters, Trecia Woodall and husband, Kevin, of Hubbard, Melanie Brown and husband, Chad, of Robinson, and Crystal Curry and husband, Shane, of Robinson; sister, Barbara Sue Prue of Hubbard; brother-in-law, Bill Brookey and wife, Jeri, of Parkhill, Oklahoma; grandchildren, Jeramie Woodall and wife, Celia of Chandler, Josh Woodall of Waco, Jared Woodall and wife, Abigail, of Columbus, GA, Devin Morris and husband, Gage, of Purdon, Bailee Woodall of Hallsville, Conner Woodall of Round Rock, Mikayla and Blake Patterson and Taylor, and Rylie Anderson of Robinson, and Justin Curry of Huntsville. John is survived by great-grandchildren, Alexis, Teagan, Gabriel and Gwyndolyn Woodall and Hallee Morris. Numerous nieces, a nephew and many treasured friends.

The family would like to thank lifelong friends Thomas Walker, Jerry Arch Anderson, Lewis Polley and Debe for the faithful visits these last several months. We would also like to express our deepest thanks to Dr. Singh and staff at the Baylor Scott & White McClinton Cancer Center and to the staff of Baylor Scott & White Hospice.

In lieu of flowers memorials can be made to: Shriners Hospital, Cottonwood Cemetery Association, Baylor Scott & White McClinton Cancer Center or Baylor Scott & White Hospice.

The family will have a private memorial service followed by a Celebration of Life at a future time.

Arrangements are being handled by Wade Funeral Home in Hubbard.