Brian R. Ricker, age 40, went to be with his Lord on April 8, 2011. He was born on February 13, 1971 in Stillwater, OK, and died of natural causes at his home in Lewisville, Texas.
Brian spent his early years growing up in the Stillwater Public School system, where his passion for the Boy Scouts was ignited and he started his journey to obtain their highest honor, the Eagle Scout. In 1985, Brian and his family moved to Sarasota, Florida where he attended High School at Pine View School for the Gifted. In 1989 he earned his Eagle Scout, was accepted to college at Georgia Tech, and graduated from Pine View School. He attended the Georgia Institute for Technology in Atlanta, Georgia where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering with honors in June of 1994.
After college, Brian became a civilian employee of the United States Navy with the Department of Defense in Washington D.C. / Fredericksburg, Virginia. He lived there for 2 years before continuing his career in St. Louis, Missouri, where he worked for Southwestern Bell Telephone. While living in St. Louis, he continued to teach himself about the computer information industry and computer programming, increasing his worth in the software development business while working for various startups.
In 2000, Brian moved to the Dallas, TX area where he worked for several companies in their software development departments as a software architect – including full time and contract positions. Throughout the years, he was asked to speak at several technological conferences and conventions, his proudest being the JavaOne conference in San Francisco, California. Most recently, he had worked for companies including Logile, Inc. and MedSynergies, helping them to develop a competitive edge in employee time management and medical data mining, respectively. At the time of his death, he had also just developed an Android App for a regional grocery store chain. While in the Metroplex, he had the privilege of becoming a father in late 2006. He loved living in Lewisville, where he was raising his precious daughter and attending her dance and gymnastics events.
Brian was interested in Texas Ranger & St. Louis Cardinal Baseball, F1 Auto racing, and dabbled in amateur sports car road racing with his dad and a few close friends. His many road race adventures took him to such places as Hartland Park Speedway in Topeka, Kansas; Hallet Motor Racing Circuit in Hallet, Oklahoma; Eagles Canyon Raceway in Decatur, Texas; and Motor Sports Ranch of both Houston, Texas and Cresson, Texas. He was chief sponsor, head engineer, pit crew, driver, and all around comic relief for his team. He stated on a questionnaire from his 20th high school reunion 2 years ago that his proudest accomplishment “aside from the obvious stuff, was hearing the engine in [my] 1970 Triumph TR6 run for the first time after I overhauled it myself.”
He is preceded in death by his maternal Grandfather, Dee Boyd, and his parenteral grandparents Gene and Judy Ricker.
He is survived by his daughter Kayleigh Ricker of Lewisville, TX; his parents, Larry and Dee Ann Ricker; his sister Betsey Ricker Weaver her husband Britt A. Weaver and their children Emma & Lara Horinek and Jacob Weaver; and his maternal grandmother Beverly Boyd Pelnar and her husband Les – all of Stillwater. He is also survived by his Aunt Shelley Ricker of Clarksdale, MS and his Uncle D. Boyd and wife Jackie of Ponca City, OK; as well as a host of cousins, extended family, and dear friends.
Services for Brian are being facilitated by Strode Funeral Home of Stillwater. The family will greet visitors Sunday evening from 6:30 – 8:00 at the funeral home. Services will be held Monday, April 18 at 2:00pm at First Baptist Church of Stillwater.
Pall Bearers are Ken Cyr, Auburn, WA; Dr. Scott Martin, Stillwater, OK; Dr. Chapman Rackaway, Hays, KS; Scott Trapp, Colorado Springs, CO; Steven Troxel, Stillwater, OK; Dr. Bob Wettemann, Colorado Springs, CO.
The family suggests making memorial contributions to the local Boys Scouts of America through the Bob Oehrtman Endowment Fund. All gifts can be directed to Don Allen 1201 W. Liberty Ave Stillwater, OK 74075
I'm really sorry to see this. I feel for you and am sorry for your loss. Thanks for posting. I was a former lab partner at Georgia Tech and then a dorm neighbor. Did a lot of fun stuff with Brian and the gang at Hefner dorm.
ReplyDeleteSooo sorry to see this also, words can not express the sadness I feel for all your family! Although I never met Brian I have come to know him thru Dee and Betsys eyes and he was a great man! God Bless all of your family in your days to come!
ReplyDelete