James Vernon Ricks Jr. was remembered today for his love of aviation, his business skills and his unwillingness to back down from a good fight.
Mr. Ricks, 73, passed away Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012, at Greenwood Leflore Hospital.
“Vernon was the type of guy that people didn’t have to take up for; he took up for himself. He was a great businessman and a horrible enemy,” said Leflore County District 1 Supervisor Phil Wolfe.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Wilson & Knight Funeral Home. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 tonight at the funeral home.
Mr. Ricks’ son, Vernon Ricks III of Greenwood, said his father always believed in hard work.
A native of Greenwood, Mr. Ricks graduated from Greenwood High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from Mississippi State University.
Upon graduation from Mississippi State, Mr. Ricks took a job in Wichita, Kan., with the Boeing Aircraft Co., where he remained for about a year.
After his father died in an automobile accident, Mr. Ricks returned to Greenwood to run the family company, which eventually became Ricks Inc.
Initially, the company sold Oliver tractors and serviced other makes of tractors and mowers. When Mr. Ricks retired in 1988, Ricks Inc. was selling Massey-Ferguson tractors and implements.
Wolfe, himself a private pilot, said he had known Mr. Ricks for more than four decades.
He said Mr. Ricks was heavily involved in aviation and the Greenwood-Leflore Airport.
James Belk, the vice chairman of the Greenwood-Leflore Airport Board, said Ricks was a familiar face in Greenwood aviation circles, starting with the old airport, which was in the current Greenwood-Leflore Industrial Park, and also at the present airport.
“I got my pilot’s license in ’65, and he was already flying out of there,” Belk said.
Mr. Ricks knew aircraft; he earned an I.A. Mechanic rating from the the Federal Aviation Administration, which is “as high as you can get,” Belk said.
Mr. Ricks rebuilt several vintage aircraft during his time at the airport, his son said.
Training new pilots was an important mission to Mr. Ricks, his son said.
Mr. Ricks held “formation clinics” for pilots of World War II and Korean War vintage aircraft. The training included flying in military formations. Mr. Ricks would provide a letter of recommendation to the FAA for each pilot who completed the training.
Mr. Ricks was a Gold Seal FAA flight instructor, Vernon Ricks III said.
“If he wanted, he could take a single student and take them to the point of getting airline transport rating,” he said. “That’s the highest thing you can be instructed on.”
Mr. Ricks, his son said, had never had a student fail a written or oral test or a FAA-supervised “check ride.”
Through the years, Mr. Ricks acquired several vintage aircraft including a North American T-6 Texan and a rare Mig-15 Soviet trainer. All the while, Belk said, Mr. Ricks grew his business and helped the airport at the same time.
“He was a very intelligent person,” Belk said.
Mr. Ricks is also survived by his wife of 49 years, Valley Edwards Ricks of Greenwood; another son, Michael Matthew Ricks of Coldwater; and five grandchildren.
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
