Garrett J. Hickman

Garrett James Hickman, son of Larry Hickman and Kari Tarvin, passed away on September 25, 2020 due to a life-long illness.  We know and have peace that he is now in the arms of His Creator with a whole body after a very long courageous fight with Sanfilippo Syndrome while on this earth.

Garrett recently turned 22 and was born on August 14, 1998.  We, his family, cannot express how thankful, blessed and eternally grateful we are that G-man was part of our family.  He has taught each of us life lessons, and will probably continue to do so, that we hope to pass on to other generations.  We are better people because of him being part of our story. This story has not been an easy one for Garrett.  He was a fighter to the end.  But we can now know that Garrett is whole and complete and doing things he never was able to do while on this earth.  And we know without a doubt that we will all be reunited with our G-Man because of the hope that we have in our true Father, Jesus Christ. We take comfort in picturing Garrett talking, singing, dancing, running along with not only his big brothers, but Jesus.

This journey has been a long and often complicated one.  We would be remiss in not thanking the many people who were there along the way.  When he was younger, there were countless volunteers from church, school and friends that made themselves available to help care for this little rascal.  As he got older and required more nursing care, there were many new caregivers that came into his life and have since tenderly and diligently cared for him and loved him well.  Our family graciously thanks you from the bottom of our hearts that you were there to care for him.  We also want to thank the Palliative Care team from Akron Children’s Hospital.  You have journeyed with us for many years.  You have supported us, guided us, loved us and helped us to make the best decisions for Garrett.  It became obvious that this was not just a job to you, but you embraced each one of us individually and as a family through this journey.  Again, thanks to you all.

Garrett is survived by his parents, Larry Hickman of Ontario and Kari (Tim) Tarvin, of Shelby, and his siblings: Kayla (Lee) Klopfenstein of Ontario, Krista (Ben) Carver of Shelby, Kendra (Cody) Bryant of Middletown, Ohio. Other surviving relatives are his paternal grandpa, Jim Hickman of Tiro, Ohio, and his maternal grandparents, Sharon (David) Bradley, of Cherokee Village, Arkansas.  Garrett is also survived by a great-grandmother, Viola Shepard of Cherokee Village, Arkansas as well as many aunts, uncles, cousins and nieces/nephews. He was preceded in death by his big brothers, Grant Hickman and Kent Hickman his grandma, Evajean Hickman, his grandpa, Larry Wheeler, and his great-grandfather, Marion Shepard.

In lieu of calling hours, we would like to invite all friends and family to a brief service to honor Garrett’s life and legacy which will be held on 6:00 PM Tuesday September 29, 2020 at Core Community Church located at 3319 St. Rt. 96 East, Shelby, Ohio.  Pastor Ben Carver, brother-in-law to Garrett, will officiate.  On Wednesday, September 30th the processional for friends and family will leave Core Community Church at 11:00 a.m. and proceed to Oakland Cemetery for a graveside service.  A brief viewing for family and friends will be observed Wednesday morning at the church from 10:00 to 11:00 AM. 
 
Memorial expressions may be made to Palliative Care in care of: Akron Children’s Hospital, 214 W. Bowery St., Akron, Ohio 44308 or Puerta de Esperanza Care Point in Guatemala in care of: Core Community Church. Barkdull Funeral Home and Crematory in Shelby is assisting the family with arrangements. 

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