Paul William Hicks

Heh. Anyone who ever communicated with Paul William Hicks at some point received that one word message. What did he mean? Who knows. Likely it meant that he cracked himself up, or he knew that what he just said, wrote, or thought was potentially annoying, mildly inappropriate, or at the very least thought provoking. Paul was thoughtful, creative, selfless, and kind. He was opinionated, sharp, inquisitive, funny, and stubborn. Paul loved his wife Toni, cats, politics, science, bats, chilling by a beautiful body of water, and meatloaf. He found joy in travelling the world, endlessly noodling on his guitar, and dragging Toni to Rush concerts.

Paul grew up in Hammondsport, NY, a small town in Western New York State, where his legacy of mischief endures. He moved to Napa, CA in his late twenties, and in Napa, he found his home. Paul loved the Napa community. It was here that he made lifelong friends through his career and volunteer work, demonstrated a decades-long commitment to local leadership, and met Toni, his soulmate and wife of 20 years. Napa welcomed Paul with open arms and helped him become the man that he always wanted to be, one who faithfully served his community and unconditionally loved his family.

Paul was 58 years old when he died after a brief battle with cancer. He was preceded in death by his father, Gary Hicks, his "girls," Cilla, Gracie, and Ella, father-in-law Mathew Golden, paternal grandparents Robert and Frances Hicks, and maternal grandfather Albert Clarke. He is survived by his grandmother Ruth Clarke (she is 105 and will outlive us all), mother Elizabeth Galpin (Ed), sister Sarah Billingsley (Michael), mother-in-law Anne Golden, sisters in law Kim Rooney (Peter) and Nikki Golden (Kevin Kirwan), his nieces Addison, Makenna, and Dylan, and nephew Mason, and his loving wife Antoinette (Toni) Golden.

A celebration of his life is scheduled Thursday, Nov. 13, 3 - 5 p.m. at the Napa Valley Country Club. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Active 20-30 Club of Napa #57, where Paul met Toni, or the Napa Chamber Foundation, where Paul served for nearly three decades.

Bring your favorite beanie to wear during the celebration of Paul's life. Heh.

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