Freda Berniece Hicks Thompson, 89, of Atchison, KS died on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021 at the Holton Community Hospital.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 am on Monday, Jan. 18th, 2021 at the Becker-Dyer-Stanton Funeral Home, with Rev. Michael Strickland officiating. Burial will follow in the Mt. Vernon Cemetery, Atchison. The family will receive friends from 2:00 to 4:00 pm on Sunday, Jan. 17th, at the Becker-Dyer-Stanton Funeral Home. Memorial contributions are suggested to the Atchison Humane Society or the Atchison Historical Society and may be sent in care of the funeral home. Condolences and remembrances to the family may be left online at www.beckerdyer.com.

Freda was born in Vinity, Arkansas, October 30, 1931, to Letha and JN Hicks. A brother, Dudley Hicks, soon followed. Their family were sharecroppers until a move was made to Atchison, KS in 1943. Freda’s father was soon drafted into the United States Navy and served in World War II. After his return from the war, another brother Jerry Warren Hicks and a sister, Sharon Hicks Peltzer was born. Freda graduated from Atchison High School in 1949. While in school, she worked at the local movie theater and was Homecoming Queen. Freda attended one year of college at Emporia State Teachers College. Freda lived in three different homes at the corner of Crowell and College Street for 76 years. She recently moved to Holton, Kansas to be near family.

She and Bob, Bobby, Thompson were married June 4, 1951, in Harrison, Arkansas. Bob preceded Freda’s death in 2017. She worked for a short period of time at Page Airways, the Caves, south of town. A son, Steve was born in 1952 and a daughter, Shelly, in 1956. She and Bob remodeled a home that was her grandparents. That house had been cut in half and moved across the Missouri river to Crowell Street. In 1956 they bought the basement house at the corner of Crowell and College Street and built a house on top where she lived until the fall of 2019. Freda wrangled kids from several families from that neighborhood, the Schulers, Arensbergs, Holmes, Rutledges and others. Freda was also a Cub Scout den mother, holding meetings in the basement. Freda and Bob successfully ran several businesses together, the Conoco gas station at the corner of Sixth and Kansas, a beer distributor ship, and Atchison Pest control for many years. Freda and Bob were avid campers and travelers. The Atchison state and county lakes were frequented often. They had several campers in which they traveled to most of the states. When Steve was about 10, Freda and he built a soap box derby style cart, it was great fun. Freda enjoyed gardening, canning and animals. She was always very excited about her volunteer positions at the Amelia Earhart museum and the Atchison Historical museum. Freda was a devoted mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

Freda is survived daughter Shelly and Tom Swendson, Circleville, granddaughter Lana and Caleb Barkman, great-granddaughter Madi, Circleville, Jodi Swendson, Manhattan, son Steve and Cindy Thompson, Fort Worth, Tx, granddaughter Jenni and Eric Neal, great-granddaughter Adelaide, great-grandson Benjamin, San Antonio, TX., granddaughter Katie and Hugh Ferguson, great-grandsons, Little Hugh and Hans, Evergreen, CO, brother Dudley and (Pat) Hicks, sisters-in-law Marge Hicks, Tiny Kibler, brother-in-law Sonny (Charlotte) Thompson and several nieces and nephews.