The man who left a legacy in Floyd County for helping young boys has died. Dick Wicker, of Cave Spring, passed away Friday morning from natural causes. Wicker wanted to make a difference in the lives of young boys back in the 1970’s and as a result the Dick Wicker Boys Home was created. The home started in 1973 and lasted until 1986 with sometimes as many as 60 boys living in the home at a single time.
During a reunion several years ago Wicker said that over the course of the decade the home provided 586 boys with a place to stay.
When asked about how the home came to be Wicker is quoted to say, “I had a friend whose family member worked for DFACS and one day she took me home from a meeting. She pulled in front of a large house on Maple Street and she said ‘Dick, you sure could sleep a lot of boys in that big ‘ole house.’ I said ‘Yes’ and she said ‘Why don’t you? We sure could use a boy’s home.”
The home was first created on Maple Street, where it had six boys living there the first year. It then moved to East Main Street before finally settling at the old McCall Hospital building in 1979, where it stayed until 1986.
Funeral arrangements have not been released.
