John E Wickham

John Edgar Wickham, Sr., was born to Dennis and Josephine Wickham on January 9, 1927, in St. Petersburg, Florida. He was employed with the Post Office as a truck driver from July 1, 1943, to July 1, 1944. John joined the Navy on January 8, 1945, was discharged August 1946. He acquired a job at the St. Pete Times as a copy boy until he was recalled to service in the Navy and served until August 10, 1951, serving as a Radioman. John attended radio school at Bainbridge, MD, and saw duty at Long Island, NY, before being sent to the naval radio station in Oahu, Hawaii. John graduated from St. Petersburg Senior High School on the 20th of November 1946. He was able to finish his education while employed with multiple jobs and serving the military. After his second discharge from the Navy, John ended up landing a job with Todd Hyatt Radio TV Store. He used his training from the service to aid him in his work while personally studying to further his skills as an electronic technician. A young lady name Roberta Wall Davis saw this handsome young man riding his motorcycle and declared that she was going to marry that guy. Roberta was with her sister and brother-in-law who responded that she couldn’t because John was her brother-in-law’s brother. Needless to say John and Roberta did get married and remained happily so until her death in February 1994. John changed employers due to Todd Hyatt going out of business in the mid-seventies where he found employment with Sears as one of their mobile technicians until he retired in 1993. During a service call while employed with Sears, John approached a customer’s door to find a dog was barking and it appeared ferocious. When John looked through the window he noticed that the customer was lying on the floor with an oxygen tank by his side, and he was not moving. With quick thinking John lured the dog outside without any incident and was able to reach the man in time to untangle the hose to allow the flow of oxygen to return to his mask. Then John went to the phone to call for assistance. John saved the man’s life. After the ambulance and the man’s wife arrived, John calmly returned the dog back to the house, locked the door and went on to complete his route and calls. John was a fisherman at heart. He liked bowling, boating, and cruising in his Cadillac. He loved his children, grandchildren, and his great children. John Edgar Wickham, Sr. passed away Friday evening January 19, 2018. He is survived by: • His daughter Delight Gigmac; • Son James W Wickham (Isla); • Daughter Virginia Gibson (Chris); • Daughter Debra Vickery; • Son John E. Wickham, Jr. (Tammy); • He has 12 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. John Edgar Wickham, Sr. will be greatly missed.