Name: Bernice Maxine Hicks Lenoir

Date: July 13, 1944 - April 9, 2018

Biography: Vibrant, funny, kind and devoted to family Bernice Maxine Hicks Lenoir was truly one of a kind. A champion for others, she made the world better, brighter, and more beautiful. Bernice died peacefully in her sleep early on April 9, 2018 after bravely battling illness. The last and 14th child of Chester Arthur Hicks and Jessie Mae Hunt Hicks, Bernice was born on July 13, 1944 in Bearden, Oklahoma where she attended Rock Creek Elementary, before moving with her family to the bustling, all-Black “Deep Deuce” neighborhood in Oklahoma City in 1954. She attended Dunbar Elementary School, Moon Middle School, and later graduated as a proud Trojan from Frederick Douglass High School in 1962. Her beloved sisters paved the way for Bernice, and she took advantage of the lessons they taught, enrolling at Langston University to study psychology. Bernice took pride in being part of the generation of Black women who set aside the stereotypes of how the world named her and, proudly, made a world based on what she wanted to be. Over the course of her career, she found success in the world of business, often breaking color barriers and helping others do the same. She was the first Black employee hired at First Security Bank in 1963 and the first Black woman to work in Western Electric’s executive office. Bernice also worked briefly as a model, her most famous shoot being one wearing a dress made of pages from the phone book! Over the years, Bernice excelled at a variety of professional roles in corporate and Oklahoma County government, where she rose to County Deputy Assessor before moving to State government. She retired from the Oklahoma Teachers Retirement Agency in 2012. While Bernice excelled professionally, she was most passionate about her family, especially her three children, Michelle, Garland and Nichole, born to her 1963 union in marriage to Garland G. Lenoir, Jr. If you knew Bernice at all, you knew that she adored her children and you undoubtedly heard endless stories of their adventures. Her love for her children, grandchildren, and family was infinite. From duties as a Brownie Troop Leader, PTA and Classroom Mom, to collecting business cards from every new position that her “babies” obtained, she delighted in “spoiling her band of kids”. In retrospect, she saw her task in life as making sure her young ones knew they were deeply loved and mattered to the world. Indeed, Bernice experienced and also showed love in many ways, delighting our taste buds, lifting our spirits, and creating community among friends and family. Her German Chocolate and rum cakes were highly prized, and a seat at her Pokeno table was always a lesson in competition and living joyfully. Bernice was also known to love a good story, often reading novels, watching horror movies, or hosting late night pizza parties for her adored grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Bernice loved God and had a very personal relationship with Jesus. She was baptized at an early age, and attended Emmanuel Baptist Church with her family for many years before joining Prospect Baptist Church later in life. Bernice is survived by her brother, John Hicks; her three children, Michelle Lenoir Gaulding (JW), Garland, III; and Nichole Lenoir. Celebrating the sparkle she brought to their lives are her six grandchildren, Garland Lenoir, IV, Jeffrey B. Gaulding (Emilee), Christian Lenoir, Brianna Gaulding, Gabrielle Lenoir, Elana Banks; and one great-grandchild, Caiden Lenoir. Preceding Bernice in death are her parents, Chester Arthur Hicks (1885-1955) and Jessie Mae Hunt Hicks (1900-1991) and twelve siblings: Jess Douglass (1920-1933); Mary Louise (1921-2004); Eula Mae (1923-1931); Thelma Louise (1925-2008); Alfred Earnest (1928-1991); Charles Wesley (1930); Wilmer Leonard (1931-2011); Gilbert Ray (1933-1996); Lowell Allen (1936); Leon Cordell (1937-2018); Louis Henry (1939-1997); and Barbara Ann (1942-2012).

Visitations: 1pm-7pm Thursday, April 12, 2018

Cemetery: Clearview Cemetery, Clearview, OK 74834

Services: Prospect Baptist Church, 2809 N. Missouri Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73111

Services date and time: 11am Friday, April 13, 2018