The Passing of A. Frank Hicks, BS

It is with a heavy heart that the Questioned Documents Section announces the loss of long-time Fellow, Frank Hicks.

Frank has been a member of the Academy since 1991. He was also a Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Document Examiners (ABFDE), serving as President from 2000–2001. Frank was also a member of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners (ASQDE). He was a Charter Member and past President of both the Southeastern Association of Forensic Document Examiners (SAFDE) and the Mississippi Division of the International Association for Identification (IAI).

Frank graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Forensic Science. He completed an internship and training in the Questioned Document Section of the Georgia Crime Laboratory in Atlanta, GA, before returning to Mississippi to start the Questioned Documents Section in the Mississippi Forensic Laboratory in 1978. Frank retired from the Mississippi Forensic Laboratory in August of 2002 and relocated to Long Beach, CA, where he joined Mr. Howard C. Rile, Jr. to work full-time as a private examiner at the firm of  Rile & Hicks.

Frank generously gave his knowledge and time to the profession of Forensic Document Examination and produced numerous presentations, workshops, and publications over the years.  He testified as an expert witness hundreds of times in both civil and criminal cases in local, state, and federal courts. He was a wonderful person and mentor, and he shall be greatly missed by all who knew him. Funeral arrangements are pending, and it is expected that Frank will be interred in Waynesboro, MS. Just prior to his death, he had been making plans to relocate to Tennessee to be closer to his grandchildren and to enjoy retirement. May he rest in peace. Please remember his family in your thoughts and prayers.