Thomas Rickman

9/23/1927 — 7/23/2017

• Service Date: 7/28/2017
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Thomas E. Rickman I passed away peacefully Sunday, July 23, 2017, in his own home in Lapwai. He fought courageously, while inspiring his loved ones along the way, against prostate cancer through several years and seven months of hospice care.

Tom was born Sept. 23, 1927, in Desmet, Idaho, to John Rickman and Cecilia George. He grew up in Tensed, Idaho, and had three brothers, Alec, Elmer and Johnnie, and one sister, Eva.

He married the love of his life, Shirley Lois Cloud, on Feb. 4, 1963, in Asotin. The couple lived in Lapwai on the Nez Perce Reservation and raised three children: Connie Guillory, Thomas and Gina Rickman.

Tom was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army on Aug. 13, 1947, and baptized to the Roman Catholic church on Aug. 16, 1934. He was an enrolled tribal member of the Coeur d'Alene tribe of Worley, Idaho.

He is survived by his wife; daughters Connie and Gina; grandchildren Ricky and Tia Hernandez, Chantel and James Greene, Thomas B. Rickman III, Justin and Sonny Guillory, Raphael and Gloria Guillory, Chrisjon and Veneice Lacy; and many wonderful great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Cecilia; father John; brothers Alec, Elmer and Johnnie; sister Eva; and son Thomas M. Rickman II.

He was a wonderful and respectable man who loved and provided for his family. He worked for the Potlatch Corp. in Lewiston and became an employee of the Nez Perce Tribe later in life and worked up into his 80s. He was a self-taught, avid car mechanic and worked on all of his family's vehicles and shared his knowledge with his children and grandchildren. He loved to watch his usual Western, karate and old black-and-white movies and spent a lot of his time doing yardwork around the house and always giving a helping hand. He and his wife also loved to pass their time by going to the Clearwater River Casino to gamble and even won a pair of Jeeps in a drawing.

Later in life, he and his wife devoted their time, blood, sweat and tears to the Presbyterian Church in Spalding, never accepting monetary pay for his work and always expressing that his work was done for the Lord. This was the kind of man he was, a gentle, kind, quite strong silent type who cared and loved for all. He loved taking in animals and he loved his two Chihuahua dogs who kept him company - names Kuts Kuts and No No, and a kitty named Kitty. He was very simple, never liked to make a fuss of anything and was very particular about his pork and noodles from Golden Dragon, cleaning, maintaining vehicles, following through with what you promise, his clothes and especially his hair as he always packed with him a comb in his back pocket.

His gentle soul and kind heart will be missed. He left a wonderful legacy behind for his grandchildren to follow and the impact he made was that of a nice and loving man.

A special thank you to the Nimiipuu Health employees, his Lewiston Cancer Hospice Care Team and Golden Dragon.

Please join us at 10 a.m. Friday for memorial services at the Lapwai Community Center in Lapwai. Dinner will immediately follow.

Service Information

Date & Time

Friday, July 28, 10:00 AM

Location

Pi-Nee-Waus Community Center
99 Agency Rd.
Lapwai, ID 83540

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