Posted on: Tuesday, July 10, 2001

Carolyn Hicks, co-founder of Hicks Homes, dead at 83

By Shayna Coleon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Carolyn Hicks, co-founder of Hicks Homes, where the idea of "building on your own lot" originated in Hawai'i, died Friday at Ann Pearl Nursing Facility. She was 83.

Born in 1918 in Utah, Hicks moved to O'ahu with her husband and two children in 1950, when housing developments in the Islands sprouted everywhere.

Her children said Hicks was the one who urged their father, Harold E. Hicks, to open their own housing development business in 1954.

"My mother definitely pushed him," said Hicks' son, David Hicks of California. "He would ask her, 'Should we do this or not do this?' She told him, 'It's time to start our own business.'"

Within the first year of opening the business in their own home by Maunalua Bay, Hicks Homes was building 100 three-bedroom houses a month in 'Aina Haina and Manoa, said daughter, Sharon Hicks.

She said each house sold for $6,240.

"Mom knew there was a market out there, and she knew people in Hawai'i really needed housing, affordable housing," Sharon Hicks said. Hicks Homes is now in its third generation.

While their father was more cautious, David Hicks said their mother always challenged what couldn't be done.

Sharon Hicks said: "She was unconventional, and she had a fantastic mind. She was the one to take risks."

In addition to her son and daughter, Hicks is survived by her brothers Louie and Ernie Nowell; eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

A memorial service over ashes will be held on Sept. 28; time to be announced later. Arrangements are by Ordenstein's Hawaiian Memorial Park Mortuary.