Obituaries

John Robert "Jack" Hicks

Jack passed away January 8, 2026, after a long illness. He was born January 12, 1932, in St. Boniface, Manitoba, Canada, the only son of Effie Belinda and Cecil Arnold Hicks.  Jack received his Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Manitoba, and a Masters of Commerce from the University of Toronto. After a very short period as a navigator in the Royal Canadian Air Force, he worked as an engineer for Canadian Westinghouse, and in various engineering management positions for Sperry Rand Canada. In 1970, he emigrated to the United States, to form Digital Electronic Automation, Inc., where he remained as President until his retirement in 1991.

Robert E. “Bob” Noch

Robert E. “Bob” Noch of Chelsea, Michigan, age 91, passed away Thursday, January 8, 2026, at the Chelsea Hospital. He was born May 7, 1934, in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Fred G. and Olga L. (Herman) Noch.

Bob was an active member of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Chelsea, and worked at the K-Mart Headquarters in Detroit, for 43 years. He enjoyed composing music and writing poems. Bob and his family moved to Taylor, after World War II, and moved to Southgate, in 1970. Later, they lived in West Bloomfield, Gregory, and at the end, Bob lived at the Chelsea Retirement community.

Robert Steven “Steve” Walker

of Manchester, Michigan, formerly of Indiana, Texas, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Japan, and England

 

Age 80, passed away Thursday, January 8, 2026, at Henry Ford Hospice in Jackson. He was born August 10, 1945, in Anderson, Indiana, the son of Robert Leroy and Elizabeth Marie (Lemeron) Walker.

 

Steve served in the US Air Force, including in England, from 1967 to 1971. He went to Burnside-Ott Aviation Training Center to become a pilot and pilot instructor. Steve flew for Zantop Airways out of Willow Run from 1977 to 1978. He then flew for the Air Transport Section at General Motors from 1979 to 2004. Steve and Brenda acted as contractors for their own home. Steve was an avid reader. He enjoyed gardening, yard work, and playing games, motorcycles, and Formula One Racing.

 

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Joseph Arthur “Joe” Esty

Joseph Arthur “Joe” Esty of Chelsea, Michigan, formerly of Ann Arbor, Livonia, Princeton, NJ, and Del Ray, FL, passed away Monday, January 5th, 2026, at the age of 88, at the Chelsea Retirement Community in Kresge. He was born June 28th, 1937, in Plainfield, NJ, the son of Dr. Geoffrey and Valerie (Wrightmyer) Esty.

Joe went to George School Preparatory, a Quaker school in Newtown, PA, and earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Union College in NY, in 1959. Joe worked as a Civil Engineer Manager for Pennwalt Wallace and Tiernan for 37 years. He was a member of the Universalist Unitarian Church of Farmington, Ann Arbor, and Boca Raton. Joe was an avid Detroit and Michigan sports fan. He loved playing tennis, hiking in the Everglades, bicycling, and running, and enjoyed traveling with his wife Gail. He also enjoyed playing guitar with his son, Geoff, for family and friends, and at open-mic nights throughout the area, under the name Joe Troubadour.