Former Greenwood Fire Marshal and Code Inspector Terry Ricks was remembered this morning as a talented man as well as a good supervisor.
Mr. Ricks, 60, died of cancer Tuesday at Greenwood Leflore Hospital. Services are scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday at Williams & Lord Funeral Home. Visitation will begin at 11 a.m.
Mr. Ricks graduated from Greenwood High School and served in the Army during the Vietnam War.
After retiring from the city, he was owner of Ricks Consulting Service, which inspected building sites. He was also a member of the Hickory Grove-Calvary Volunteer Fire Department and previously worked for the Greenwood Fire Department.
Fire Marshal Victor Stokes said today that Mr. Ricks was very personable and was a good resource for information.
“After I got here, he was very instrumental in showing me how the city goes about doing what they do as far as code enforcement was concerned,” said Stokes, who began working for the city in 2001.
In addition to being familiar with the relevant codes, Mr. Ricks had experience as an electrician and had drawn up plans for churches and other structures, Stokes said.
Stokes said the two of them “never had cross words,” and any type of material he needed to do his job, Mr. Ricks provided it. After Mr. Ricks retired, Stokes continued to call him for advice.
Mr. Ricks did consulting work for The Johnson-McAdams Firm after his retirement from the city and was instrumental in projects such as Parkway Place, Stokes said.
“He was a good person to work for,” Stokes said.
