  Ruth M. Hicks 17 March 1911 - 6 December 1940 The Denison Press Saturday, December 7, 1940 pg. 1 MURDER, SUICIDE VERDICT Father-in-law Kills Woman and Then Slays Self Murder and suicide was the verdict handed down today following an inquest of Justice of the Peace E.A. Wright as a result of the fatal shooting of Mrs. Ruth May Johnson Hicks, 30, by her father-in-law who later killed himself. Mrs. Hicks, wife of Horace Hicks, was shot in the left breast by a .44 Colt pistol in the kitchen of her home west of Locust. Her 12-year-old daughter, Edna Fay, witnessed the murder. According to reports compiled here by Deputy Sheriffs Virgil Evans and Paul Smith, Mr. Hicks and his son and daughter-in-law had motored to Denison Friday afternoon to secure their relief alotment for food. The elder Hicks was taken to his trailer home at Hagerman and the young couple came to their home near Locust. The son had given his father money for tobacco before they left Denison and all were apparently on friendly terms. The elder Hicks followed the couple to their home and shot through a window at his son but missed. The young man fled the house and called officers as his father trapped the woman in the kitchen and killed her instantly, about 7 p.m. Cutting the tires on his son's automobile so he could not follow, Hicks returned to his trailer home at Hagerman and turned the gun on himself, shooting himself in the center of the chest and in his stomach after setting his home on fire. He was found by neighbors who called an ambulance and was taken to a Sherman hospital where he died this morning at 5 o'clock. The father was released from the state penitentiary about three years ago where he served 16 years of a 20 year sentence for killing Cy Paragen and was awaiting trial by a grand jury for the alleged murder of a woman 2 months ago, the deputy sheriffs stated. He is divorced from his wife. According to the officers, Edna Fay was quoted as hearing her mother say, "Oh, my God, don't do that!" when Hick brandished the gun. Four other children survive. Funeral services for Mrs. Hicks to be in charge of Short-Murray were incomplete at press time today. She was born March 17, 1910 as daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W.J. Johnson near Celtic, Texas and was reared and educated at Celtic and Luella. She was married to Mr. Hicks at Sherman November 10, 1925 and was a member of the Baptist Church. Surviving besides her husband are 3 sons, Marvin, Jimmie and Wesley; 2 daughters, Edna Fay and Susie Joyce; 7 brothers, Travis L., Louis, William, Jamie, C.J., Ray and Bill Johnson, all of Denison; 2 sisters, Mrs. Annie Bell Lewis of Whitewright, and Mrs. Ruby Morris of Van Alstyne. Her parents, now residing at Denison, also survive. The Denison Press Monday, December 9, 1940 pg. 1 MRS. RUTH MAY HICKS Funeral services for Mrs. Ruth Hicks, 30, wife of Horace G. Hicks, who was shot to death Friday night, were held Sunday at 3 p.m. from Holloway Cemetery near Hagerman, with Rev. B.A. Morris officiating. Interment was in charge of Short-Murray. Pallbearers were H.T. Patterson, J.T. Ashburn, W. Rolark, Clyde Wyatt, F.L. Smart and L.B. Martin.  Holloway Cemetery Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson CountyTXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |