Richard K. Fickett ’57 died on February 10, 2023, in Herndon, Virginia.

(The following was provided by The Washington Post on February 15, 2023)

Richard K. Fickett ’57

Colonel Richard Knight Fickett, (USA, Ret.), age 86, of Herndon, Virginia, passed away at his home on Friday, February 10, 2023, after a long struggle with bladder and prostate cancer. Colonel Fickett was born in Portland, Maine, the youngest son Lewis and Phyllis Fickett of Naples, Maine. Fickett was prepared at Bridgton Academy, North Bridgton, ME, and Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME. While at Bowdoin, he was a member of the ROTC program and president of his fraternity, Theta Delta Chi.

During his twenty-six-year Army career, Colonel Fickett served in many infantry assignments, including two years in South Vietnam, first as an advisor to a South Vietnamese infantry battalion, and subsequently, as commander of a US Army infantry battalion. He also earned a master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) with honors at Syracuse University in New York. Among his awards, Colonel Fickett earned the coveted Expert Infantryman’s Badge, held by only a handful of comrades.

Following his Army career, Colonel Fickett pursued a fourteen-year consulting career, providing operations research support to Army and Marine Corps weapons programs. Colonel Fickett also supported youth activities such as Little League baseball coach and Cub Scout pack coordinator. In 1970, residents of Hayfield Farm in Alexandria, Virginia, honored him by electing him president of their community association.

Survivors include two daughters, Amy Fickett of Fort Worth, TX, and Vicki Lemley of Charlottesville, VA; two sons, Michael Fickett of Fairview Heights, IL, and David Fickett of Waco, TX; two nephews, Lewis Fickett of Lansdale, PA, and William Fickett, Jr. of Vancouver, WA; two nieces, Karin Fickett of Concord, MA, and Sybil Fickett of Los Angeles, CA; a sister-in-law, Martha Fickett of Lansdale, PA; eight grandchildren and one great-grandson.