Hicks, Ben Church, 1901-1982

Ben Church Hicks was born at Bridgetown, N.S. in 1901, son of John Herbert Hicks and his second wife Henrietta (Armstrong). He studied arts and applied science at Mount Allison and McGill universities, receiving a B.Sc. in electrical engineering from McGill in 1927. Hicks resided in Montreal and was employed in the electrical utility industry for 39 years as a consulting engineer with the Shawnigan Water and Power Company and its successor, the Quebec Hydro Electric Commission. A noted authority on tidal power, he also belonged to a number of professional associations including the Engineering Institute of Canada, Corporation of Engineers of Quebec, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Hicks married his first wife, Grace May Morrison (Watson) (1890-1943), in Montreal in 1934. Retiring in 1966, Hicks and his second wife Constance moved to the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia where he was very active in community affairs including the establishment of the Annapolis Valley Pioneer Musuem. He died at Halifax on 26 November 1982. Hicks' father, John Herbert Hicks Jr. (1844-1925), son of Bridegetown merchant John H. Hicks (1789-1863), was a teacher, federal government official, merchant, and founder of the firm J.H. Hicks and Sons Limited, building contractors and manufacturers, in 1891. He first married Sarah Collins Davies, with whom he had the following children: J. Herbert Hicks (1876-1954), Edward A. Hicks (ca. 1879-1968), and Henry B. Hicks (1879-1951). Children of John H. Hicks Jr. and his second wife Henrietta (Armstrong) (b. 1860) were: Ben Church, Ellis, Mary Helena (d. 1979), and Sarah Augusta.