Helga Hickman

Helga was born June 29, 1925 in Jena, Germany. She was the daughter of Wilhelm Emil Fritz Hardtke and Frieda Klara Olga Fischer Hardtke. She was raised in what became East Germany after WWII. Helga's father was a Master Baker who opened up his own bakery in 1925. As a young girl, she worked in her father's bakery delivering fresh bread to customers beginning at 6:00 each morning. At the age of 10, she became an automatic member of the Hitler Youth. Her family did not like the Nazi Party or support its policies so her father wrote a letter stating she was needed in the bakery so she would not be attending the meetings. At the age of 16, she began her apprenticeship to become a pharmaceutical technician. On January 9, 1945 the first bombs were dropped on Jena. The pharmacy she was working in was a former convent from the Middle Ages that had walls several feet thick. She and two pharmacists fled to the basement when they were alerted planes were approaching. Minutes later the bomb destroyed the lab where they had been working. The two pharmacists were scarred from the fire but she was able to make it out into the streets to safety. During the war, Helga's family had boarders who were Iranian students studying at the University of Jena. After the war, they found out that these men were allies of Hitler. One of the students was later found to be the chief plotter of the 1951 assassination of King Abdullah of Jordan. After the war was over and the Russians arrived, Helga and a friend escaped East Germany. Her family knew a doctor who was being allowed to leave for bone cancer treatment and he agreed to take them with him. They did not have the necessary papers and knew they would be in trouble if caught. At one point, the front tires of the car were shot by Americans because the car had two Russian Red Stars painted on the front of the car. It took them three days to travel 150 miles and farmers let them sleep in their barns at night. After making it through the checkpoint, she went to Bad Hersfeld and got a job cleaning houses and eventually began working as a bookkeeper in the Snack Bar Exchange for enlisted men and women in the U.S. Military. In 1948, she went back to Jena for two years to help her father in the bakery when her sister became ill. Conditions in Jena were very bad due to all of their personal freedoms having been taken away. When the government told her she could no longer work for her father but had to clean bricks she knew she could not live like that any longer. She found two students who were customers of the bakery, that she knew were involved in the black market. She was given instructions on how to get to a house in a little village at the border to find a guide. She eventually met the men but didn't have enough money so she gave them a ring with rubies and diamonds. They accepted the ring and she always called it her ‘freedom ring'. Helga had many more experiences during and after WWII which also included hiding from Russian soldiers on horseback who were patrolling the border, as well as being shot at when spotted from a watchtower. She shared these experiences with friends, family members and many people in her adopted state of Oklahoma. These experiences shaped her into the strong person she became. She became a U.S. citizen more than 50 years prior to her death. She was always a strong advocate of the United States of America and the freedom and privileges we are so blessed to possess. Helga met George Hickman while he was stationed in Germany as he was serving with the U.S. Army. They fell in love and on August 16, 1952, they were united in marriage in Bad Hersfeld, Germany. The location for the ceremony was the Mayor's office in Bad Hersfeld and that same afternoon, they had another ceremony on the Military Base, conducted by the United States Military Chaplin. Upon George's Honorable Discharge from the service, they relocated to the States, eventually settling in Tulsa, then moving to Bartlesville. Helga worked for the J.C. Penny Company in Bartlesville. She retired after 18 years of loyal service. Mr. Hickman founded and ran the George Hickman Insurance Agency until he retired in March of 2007. He preceded Helga in death on August 30, 2010. Helga was an active volunteer in the Bartlesville community. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church where through the years she was involved in UMW, XYZ, taught Sunday School classes, communion steward, volunteered in the kitchen and served in any capacity where needed. Other organizations she participated in were the Salvation Army Auxiliary, Bartlesville Credit Women International, Green Country Republican Women's Club and the International Club. She had also volunteered in the Jane Phillips Medical Center gift shop and had been a docent at the H.V. Foster Mansion. George was very active in the Civitan Club and Helga was always on board to help him with his projects. She always supported her children in their many activities growing up and was always there to cheer on her grandchildren at their different sporting events, recitals, plays or assemblies. She enjoyed traveling with George and the family to the Northeast during the fall seasons and also spending time visiting the Missouri Ozarks. In 2008, Helga and George traveled to Germany together to visit Helga's family. George had not been back to visit since 1952. Many members of Helga's family had visited the U.S. over the years. Helga and George always enjoyed showing her family their favorite sites. Helga loved her family very much and will be dearly missed. Preceding Mrs. Hickman in death are her parents; her husband, George; and her sisters, Monica and Erika. She is survived by two daughters, Freda M. Bretz and her husband, Allen, of Bartlesville, and Grace L. Farmer and her husband, Scott, also of Bartlesville; three grandchildren, Matthew Bretz and his wife, Regina, of Bartlesville, Amanda Bretz of Tulsa, Oklahoma and Hayley Bretz of Norman, Oklahoma; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation Details

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011 9:00am - 9:00pm, Neekamp-Luginbuel Funeral Home

Service Details

Friday, October 28th, 2011 10:00am, First United Methodist Church Bartlesville