James W. Ickes

James W. Ickes, age 72, of Dover, died Wednesday, January 28, 2009, in Country Club Retirement Campus at Dover.A son of the late Wesley Ickes and Bessie (Garabrant) Shull, James was born on October 6, 1936 at New Philadelphia.He attended New Philadelphia High School and later joined the United States Air Force. He served in the communications field and was stationed in Wyoming, Morocco, and Plattsburg, New York.It was during his deployment in New York that a young woman by the name of Catherine Bourgeau caught James’s attention. The couple married in 1959 and reared two children.For a number of years following his military occupation, James served as a detective in Gimbles Department Store at New York City. Following his career at Gimbles, James worked for a time as a taxi cab driver in Florida and later relocated to Ohio following the passing of his wife, Catherine, in 1993. He soon found work as a private duty security guard working for both Greer Steel at Dover and the Gradall Company at New Philadelphia.Upon his return to Ohio, James met and later married the former Paula Altier, who preceded him in death in 2007.Those who knew James best knew him to be a fan of classic American movies, which included actors such as Clint Eastwood and Humphrey Bogart. He was also a wealth of knowledge when it came to supplying facts about movie trivia. Additionally, he loved to engage those around him in conversations that involved New York City.He is survived by a daughter, Erika Ickes of Dover; two step-children, Dennis Pope of Lexington, North Carolina and Kathleen Pope of Vermont; a brother, Daniel Shull of New Philadelphia; a sister, Linda Bland of New Philadelphia; and two step-sisters, Shirley “Jeannie” Garabrandt of New Philadelphia, and Arlene (James) Weaver of Arlington, Texas.Three grandsons, Derek Ickes and his companion, Misty Miller of Lodi, Ohio, James Murphy of New Philadelphia, and Dustin Murphy and his companion Shavonne Taylor of Millersburg; and five great-grandchildren complete the family.In addition to his parents, and his wives, James is preceded in death by a son, James W. Ickes, II and a sister, Catherine Jean Ickes.A memorial service celebrating James’s life will be held in the Chapel of the Linn-Hert-Geib Funeral Home & Crematory at New Philadelphia on Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 4:00 PM. Cremation will be through the care of Geib’s Tuscarawas Valley Crematory at Dover.