Wilfred Bickham

Wilfred Carl Bickham, 86, was unexpectedly called to his heavenly home to be with God on Friday, February 9, 2018. Born April 8, 1931 to Joe Bickham and Mary Humphries Bickham, he was a son of a pioneering family that has been in the Calallen area for well over 100 years. Carl was a deacon and third generation member of the Church of Christ in Robstown and was baptized at the age of 12 with the “Dirty Dozen” in a water canal near Robstown. He attended Calallen schools when overalls and bare feet were the dress code. He played every sport at Calallen and was voted “Most Handsome” in his graduating class of 1948. He remained an avid sports fan of "all things Calallen" and could be found at every Friday night football game. In 1951 he was drafted and served in the Army in Stuttgart Germany where he attained the rank of Sergeant. While in Germany, he received a letter from a friend with a photograph of the new girl in town and he was smitten. Upon arriving back to Calallen in 1953, he met the new girl, Sue Perry, who very quickly became the love of his life and wife for over 63 years. Their entire married life has been lived in a home that Carl built room by room on the Bickham family compound. He supported their growing family by working at Champlin Oil Refinery as an operator for 40 years, repairing automobiles, and establishing a successful aviary business raising and selling parakeets and lovebirds. Carl was a hard working man and a master of all things mechanical whose calloused hands were very seldom idle. Carl had a God given heart to serve others. He used his skills and resources for those who were brought into his daily life with no expectations of being repaid. A good Samaritan . . he had a tender heart for those who the rest of the world would pass by. He was a man’s man. His lifetime love of hunting and fishing was fostered and honed in his youth by time spent with uncles and cousins camped out by the river. To know Carl was to know his passion was fishing. He didn’t just go fishing – he went fish catching... a skill he taught to his two young brothers-in-law, David and John, and grandson, Hunter, who will carry on that tradition. Carl also had a great love for all animals including exotic pets such as bobcats, monkeys, birds, and raccoons and was infamous for banking with Wapi the Raccoon on his shoulder. Carl leaves a legacy of a life well lived to those he touched as a devoted loving husband, hero daddy to his girls, loving Daddy Carl to his grandchildren, loyal brother and friend. The treasures of his life that he leaves behind are his wife, Sue; three children, Carla Register (Randy) Evans GA, Michelle Wolff (Ron) Merritt Island Fl, and Perri Bickham New Braunfels, TX; eight grandchildren, Randee Sims, Leslee Bogdanow, Hunter Register, Beth Perdue, Addie Wolff, Payton Wolff, Dolan Bates, and Carl Bates; siblings, Gordon Bickham, Roger Bickham (Tatiana), and Nancy Gregorcyk (Allan); two brothers-in-law, David Perry (Sheryl) and John Perry (Debbie); sister-in-law, Barbara Perry; and a multitude of extended family and friends. He will be dearly missed. Visitation with the family will be held Wednesday, February 14, 2018, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Sawyer-George Funeral Home, 12497 Leopard St, Corpus Christi, TX 78410. Military Honors are scheduled on Thursday, February 15, 2018, at 10 AM at the Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery, 9974 Interstate Hwy 37, Corpus Christi, TX 78410. A memorial service will follow at 11:30 AM at the Highway 44 Church of Christ, 301 W Ave J, Robstown, TX 78380. In lieu of flowers, donations in his name may be made to TAHV Gifts and Memorials, 2109 Canyon Rock Ct, Abilene, TX 79606, Highway 44 Church of Christ, or Wreaths Across America for our local Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery https://wreaths.fastport.com/donateLocation.html?page=17162 Serving as pallbearers will be Hunter Register, Carl Bates, David Perry, John Perry, Keith Bickham, Duane Bickham, Spencer Davis, and David Custer. Honorary pallbearers will be Gordon Bickham, Roger Bickham, Kelly Bickham, Fred Alexander, and Bobby McConal.