Fall Branch, TN – Leah Marie Hicks, 85, passed away on Sunday, November 2, 2025 at Johnson City Medical Center, Johnson City, TN. She was born in Monroe, LA and raised in Louisiana. She graduated from N.E. Louisiana State University with a B.A. in Business Education and a minor in English. She attained her Master’s in Business from V.P.I. and State University. She taught for over 40 years in Wise County School System and Mountain Empire Community College. She loved to read. She was of the Baptist faith.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Sidney and Elizabeth (Gillum) Laing; step-mother, Ila Mae (Stringer) Adams Laing; brothers, Walter “Bunny” Laing, Richard Adams and Woodrow “Bud” Adams; and a sister, Susan George
Leah is survived by her husband of 51 years, William R. “Bill” Hicks; her children, Amy Rae Hicks of Kingsport, TN and Richard A. “Ricky” Johnson (Heather) of Fayetteville, WV; her siblings, Sydna “Libby” Bougeré of Hendersonville, TN and Sheryl Anderson (Lyn) of LaFayette, LA and several nieces and nephews.
The family will receive friends on Thursday, November 6, 2025 from 5:00-7:00pm at Gilliam Funeral Home, 618 Wood Ave. W., Big Stone Gap, VA.
Graveside services will be held on Friday, November 7, 2025 at 11:00am at Powell Valley Memorial Gardens, 5650 Powell Valley Road, Big Stone Gap, VA with Lowell “Cotton” Gardner officiating. Family and friends will meet at the cemetery by 10:50am.
Gilliam Funeral Home and Crematory is honored to serve the family of Leah Hicks.
To view the obituary online and offer condolences, visit www.gilliamfuneralhome.com or the funeral home Facebook page.