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Rudy Bicknell (January 2, 2013) |
Rudy Gayle Bicknell, 80, of Wilmore and Vero Beach, Fla., died Dec. 27, in Vero Beach.
Born Aug. 2, 1932, in Panola, Madison County, Ky., the son of Ewey W. and Ethel Bicknell, he began a successful career in business soon after graduation from Eastern Kentucky University in 1955.
The EKU College of Business recognized his entrepreneurial success by awarding him a distinguished-achievement award in 1984.
He and his wife owned and operated farms in Jessamine and Estill counties. He also was a horseman having raised, bred and raced thoroughbreds.
He received a military commission after completing the Reserve Officers Training Corps program at EKU, serving two tours at Ft. Sill, Okla., and, as a member of the 100th Division in the Kentucky Army Reserve, at Ft. Chafee, Ark.
Rudy graduated from Waco High School, where he excelled in basketball and baseball. At EKU, he earned four varsity letters in baseball as a shortstop whose fielding skills were described by a teammate as “smooth as silk.” He played summer baseball for Berea in the Bluegrass League.
At EKU, he was also a member of the rifle team, the Varsity E Club, and the Knights of Artillery. He was an honor student majoring in business and a regular honoree on the dean’s list.
A friend noted that Rudy Bicknell was the epitome of Horatio Alger’s philosophy that “an honorable position in life may be attained by those who are willing to work for it.”
A member of the EKU and University of Kentucky Alumni associations, he was both an EKU Fellow and a UK Fellow.
He was a lifelong member of the Panola Baptist Church and attended Christ the King Church in Vero Beach. An avid tennis player, he was a member of the Lexington Tennis Club and the Orchid Island Tennis Club. He also was a member of Spindletop and a Kentucky Colonel.
In addition to his wife of 54 years, Peggy Hamilton Bicknell of Berea, he is survived by three daughters, Kimberly Hagan and husband Clifford and Cheryl Bicknell, both of Vero Beach, and Gayle Bicknell of Wilmore and Aspen, Colorado; a granddaughter, Caitlin of Vero Beach; a sister, Bulah Ruth Shearer, and a brother, Darrell and wife Nancy, both of Berea; and two nephews, Craig Shearer of St. Augustine, Fla., and Kyle Bicknell of Lexington.
Services will be conducted Friday at 2 p.m. at Wilmore United Methodist Church, Clark Chapel, 209 E. Main St., Wilmore, with Dr. Reed Polk officiating. Visitation will precede the service, beginning at noon. A private burial will follow. Gash Memorial Chapel in Lawrenceburg in charge of arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 465 E. High St., Lexington , KY 40507 or Hospice of Indian River County, 901 37th St., Vero Beach, FL 32960
