Menifee Man Celebrates 100th Birthday With Family, Friends

Friends and family joined Edward Charles Hicks of Menifee recently in celebrating his 100th birthday.

The celebration took place at the home of his son and daughter-in-law, Peter and Jean Hicks. Edward Hicks lives at Sun City Gardens in Menifee.

Hicks was born Aug. 28, 1914 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. During World War II, he served as a civil engineer for the U.S. Army in Africa, Egypt, and England. While in England, he meet and married Mary Eileen Apperley in 1947.

Edward and his British war bride sailed to the U.S. on the Queen Mary in 1947. They raised three children -- Hillary, Charlene, and Peter -- while he worked as an engineer for Hughes Aircraft, Aerojet, Santa Fe offshore drilling, and Global Marine.

His projects included working on the B17 in World War II and the Hughes Glomar explorer, which raised a Russian Nuclear submarine in the Pacific Ocean in 1974. He also has six grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Hicks' wife, Mary, passed away in 2001. They lived in England, Arizona and Orange County before moving to Menifee in 1991.

The City of Menifee will honor Hicks during its next city council meeting on Sept. 3.