Gary Hicks

Gary Leslie Hicks died on January 23, 2021 just as he had lived-- full of courageous faith and surrounded by his family. Loving husband, father, grandfather, pastor and friend to many, his life’s passion was to share Jesus’ love with as many people as he possibly could.

Born March 8, 1954 in Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada as the firstborn of Reverend Leslie Hicks and Aleen Esther Smith Hicks, Gary was soon joined by his brother Donald and later, his sister Nancy.  As a boy, Gary loved music, magic tricks and making mischief behind his parents’ backs.

Gary studied religion at Bethany Bible College where he enjoyed traveling with the college's music outreach teams.  It was also at Bethany that he dated and married the love of his life, Constance Rollins Hicks.  Together, they welcomed two daughters-- Shannon Elizabeth and Gloria Aleen.  Gary was steadfast in his commitment to his family which grew to include his son-in-law Josiah and grandchildren Ramaira, Caleb, Samuel, Abigail and Steven.

Gary was ordained in the Wesleyan church in July 1980 and over the course of his ministry, he served at eight congregations in New Brunswick (Canada), New York, North Carolina and Maryland.  In April 2007, Gary joined the staff of Brook Hill United Methodist church in Frederick.  Serving as the pastoral liaison for the outreach committee, Gary was active in helping to coordinate and serve on multiple domestic and international mission trips.

In October 2015, Gary became the founding pastor of Downtown Christian Fellowship. A congregation that got its start meeting in a bar, DCF is open and welcoming to all.  Gary spent many days and nights developing relationships with his brothers and sisters at DCF and doing his best to help meet their physical and spiritual needs. The DCF congregation was dear to Gary's heart and never far from his mind or conversation in his last days.

Gary was a talented musician and prolific songwriter. He was an accomplished piano and accordion player with a special affinity for Celtic music. He remembered fondly his days of performing with That Raucous Crew and left us with over 500 original songs and hymns.

Gary's family welcomes you to share how he impacted your life at https://www.tribute.co/pastor-gary-hicks/ and to join them for a drive-through, no contact time of remembering Gary together at Brook Hill UMC (8946 Indian Springs Road) on Friday, January 29 from 2-5pm. Cards and letters can be dropped off at this time. Funeral services will be private. Live streaming of the service will be available at https://www.bhumc.org/ at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 30th.

In lieu of flowers, Gary's family invites you to carry the torch of his legacy by donating to BHUMC's community mission fund. This fund helps support the ongoing work of Gary's dear friends at Downtown Christian Fellowship. Donations can be made at https://pushpay.com/g/bhumcfrederick (select community mission fund) or mailed to the church (community mission fund in the memo).

Please visit the following link for a video tribute of Pastor Gary's life.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vQ3KeThXcWXHvmO1pA5HobjHoXrRoBATYyp5dnNeWOIEjKiDVdXeOQlO_d_w-xUODc80MHOad_st5hW/pub?start=true&loop=true&delayms=5000

Arrangements are with Stauffer Funeral Home, Frederick. Expressions of sympathy may be shared with the family at www.staufferfuneralhome.com.

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