Mr. Billy Joe Hickman, 79, of Largo, Florida, died Wednesday morning, March 13, 2013 in Largo. He was a native of Trion, Georgia. He joined the military at a young age and enjoyed a very successful career there. After serving briefly in the U. S. Army, he joined the Massachusetts Air National Guard where he served for 40 years and rose to the rank of Chief Master Sergeant. Mr. Hickman was a member of and Past Master of the Mount Tom Lodge A. F. & A. M. in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Funeral services will be held Sunday, March 17, 2013, at 2:00 pm at the chapel of John House’s Cave Spring Chapel Funeral Home with Dr. John Connell officiating. Interment will follow in the family lot of the Cave Spring Cemetery with the Honor Guard of the Shanklin-Attaway Post 5 of the American Legion providing military honors. The family will receive friends Sunday, March 17, 2013 from 2:00 pm until the funeral hour.

Mr. Hickman is survived by sons, Donald (Cheryl) Hickman, Westfield, Massachusetts, Dwayne Hickman and his partner William, Largo, Florida, William Hickman and his partner, Ricky, Florence, Massachusetts; daughter, Mrs. Bonnie Taylor, (Ron), Rhode Island; sister, Mrs. Linda Terry, (Cecil), Armuchee, Georgia, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Mr. Hickman was the son of the late George Washington Hickman and the late Mary Alice Huckaby Hickman.

Mr. Hickman was preceded in death by his wife, Sara Ann McConnell, and his bother, Jimmy Ray Hickman.