Richard Hicks Gee

Middletown, - Richard Hicks Gee, 92, of 303 Valley Road Middletown, formerly of Fiskeville, Rhode Island, died Thursday, June 5, 2003 at Newport Hospital Newport, RI. He was the husband of Juanita Stewart Gee. Born in Coventry, RI on March 22, 1911, he was the son of the late Robert N. and Grace Hicks Gee.Mr. Gee ran his own poultry farm in Fiskeville, RI from 1934 to 1957. After 1957 he worked for the State of Rhode Island and became superintendent of Institutional Farms until 1971 when the herd of 500 Registered Holsteins was sold. It was the largest registered herd east of the Mississippi. He was treasurer of the Rhode Island Holstein Association. He was a trustee from Rhode Island to Eastern States Expo for many years until his retirement, when he was made an Honorary Trustee. Mr. Gee was a 1930 graduate of Moses Brown in Providence, RI and a 1934 graduate of Rutgers University receiving a BS in Agriculture. He was a member of the Delta Phi and Alpha Zeta Fraternities, president of the Rhode Island Poultry Producers Association, president of the Farmers Production Credit Association, treasurer of the Rhode Island Agricultural Council, member of Governer Pastores Poultry Advisory Council, and a former delegate to NEPPCO. Mr. Gee was an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. He was a member of the Rhode Island Red Club of America Hall of Fame and a life member of the American Poultry Association since 1926. Mr. Gee was a long time member of the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, the Nature Conservancy and the Pawtuxet Valley Historical Society. He often said his proudest moment was when he was handed his Eagle Scout badge in the Rhode Island Auditorium. Mr. Gee had two absorbing hobbies, breeding and showing exhibition poultry and birding. His Rhode Island Red bantams were nationally famous. He was the first Secretary Treasurer of the Rhode Island Poultry Fanciers Club and later its president. He was a 4-H leader for more than 10 years and on the board of the Rhode Island 4-H Foundation. Besides his wife of 64 years he is survived by his son Randall Stewart Gee of Portsmouth, RI, his grandson Brandon Barry Gee of Memphis, TN and his nephew Robert N. Gee III of Mount Vernon, WA.He was the brother of the late Robert N Gee Jr.A Memorial service will be held on Friday, June 13, 2003, at 1:00 PM in St. Marys Episcopal Church, 324 East Main Road, Portsmouth. In lieu of flowers donations in his memory may be made to the Norman Bird Sanctuary, 583 Third Beach Road, Middletown, RI or the Nature Conservancy. Arrangements are by the Memorial Funeral Home, 375 Broadway, Newport.