Wayland Hicks

Henry Wayland Hicks, Sr., 93, of Raeford, formerly of Candor, died Monday, April 24, 2017 at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst. Funeral Service will be 11:00 AM Friday, April 28, 2017 at Candor Baptist Church, with Rev. Steve Jarman and Pastor John Baker officiating. Burial will follow with military honors in Candor Cemetery. Henry was born on June 18, 1923 in the Onvil community of Montgomery County. He was the first of four sons born to the late Henry Harrison Hicks and Ina Sedberry Hicks Craven. His brothers, Calvin, Bill and Neil predeceased him as did his loving wife of 53 years, Mozelle Thompson Hicks. Wayland graduated from Troy High School in 1942 and before serving his country, was a welder in the Navy shipyards in Wilmington, North Carolina building Liberty ships. Wayland served his country as part of the World War II European Theater. He served in the Army and was a member of the 83rd division, 330th infantry regiment, C Company – the Thunderbolts. After suffering an injury, he was moved into the US Army Air Corps and was a part of the 464th Bomb Group. Wayland came back to Candor in 1946 and made his home there. He married Mozelle in 1953 and they had two sons. Wayland was a caring and loving father and an even more devoted husband. He had a love of farming and had a mechanical mind. He worked with several different farmers in Moore and Montgomery counties for many years by helping with the planting, harvesting or building an engine or transmission in a tractor. In recent years, Wayland was more active in exploring his military past by reaching out to fellow Thunderbolts and traveling back to Europe. He was able to reconnect with the Thunderbolts and participated in their annual reunion events across the country. At the 2015 reunion, he, along with other surviving veterans, were awarded the French military’s highest honor, the National Order of the Legion of Honour and was knighted by the French government. In 2012, Wayland, along with his two sons, traveled across Europe and was able to visit some of the same areas and battlefields he had experienced as a young soldier 70 years prior. Though he didn’t feel as if he deserved it, he received a hero’s welcome in many of the towns that they visited, including a parade and the honor of lowering our nation’s flag over the US Cemetery in Luxembourg. Wayland was proud of the town he lived in and was a pillar of the Candor community. This was exemplified when he was named the Grand Marshal of the North Carolina Peach Festival parade in 2014. Wayland also volunteered at the Candor Fire Department for more than 25 years. Together with Mozelle, they owned and operated the Candor Flower Shop for over 33 years bringing the beauty of flowers to so many. Since 1949, he has been a committed member of Candor Baptist Church, where he served as a Deacon, and was the oldest living member of the church until his passing. Wayland is survived by his sons and daughters-in-law, Henry and Lydia Hicks of Raeford, N.C. and Billy and Rose Hicks, of Waukee, Iowa. His grandchildren are Way Hicks and his wife, Andrea, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, McKenzie Long and her husband, Jay, of Wilson, North Carolina, Andrew Hicks and his girlfriend, Rachel Plummer of Dallas, Texas, and Alexis, Abigail, and Amelia Hicks of Waukee, Iowa. Charlotte Ann Long and Aiden Kane Hicks are his great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his step-daughter, Judith Marcum of Yuma, Arizona, his sister in law, Delores Hicks of La Porte, Texas, and his special friend, Mrs. Frances Pigford of Troy, North Carolina. He leaves behind a host of loved ones, including the Thompson family, which made him one of their own even before he and Mozelle were married. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 PM Thursday at Briggs-Candor Funeral Home. Flowers accepted or memorials may be made to the Candor Baptist Church, PO Box 614, Candor NC 27229 or to the Candor Volunteer Fire Dept., PO Box 580, Candor NC 27229.