Graveside services for Mary Heflin Ricks, 89, of Monroe will be held at 3:00 PM, Sunday, January 24, 2021 at Union Cemetery in Union, Mississippi under the direction of Kilpatrick Funeral Home, Monroe, Louisiana. Pastor Warren Eckhardt  will  officiate. Visitation will be held January 24, 2021 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Kilpatrick Funeral Home, Monroe, LA.

Mrs. Ricks was born on October 15, 1931 in Union, MS and died on January 19, 2021 in Ruston, LA after succumbing to a recent battle with illness.  Mrs. Ricks was a retired Elementary school teacher, having earned her Bachelor of Science in Education from Mississippi State College in 1953 and her Masters Degree in Education from Mississippi State University in 1967. She began her teaching career at Eastside Elementary School in West Point, MS in 1953 and had a long and distinguished career in Elementary Education.  After moving to Monroe in 1967, Mrs. Ricks taught at Barkdull Faulk  Elementary  and then moved to Jack Hayes Elementary in 1969, where she taught for the remainder of her career (both 1^st and 2^nd grade) until her retirement in 1995.  Mrs.  Ricks became a staple at Jack Hayes and received multiple “Teacher of the Year” honors throughout her tenure.

Even though she taught hundreds of children in the Monroe area (as well as her prior teaching in Mississippi), she remembered every student and would often brag on their accomplishments with a wink and a “I taught them in 1^st (or 2^nd) grade.”  She remembered all of “her kids” regardless of when or where she taught them.

Mrs. Ricks was preceded in death by her parents, Barto Martin Heflin and Etta Mae Dorman Heflin of Union, MS, by her beloved husband of 67 years, Dr. B.L. Ricks of Monroe, LA.  and  by her brothers and sisters Onree Heflin, Shelby Heflin, Rozelle Heflin Nicholson, Billy Heflin, Willie Ray Heflin, Harston Heflin, Cobert Heflin, Geneva Heflin Horton and Fred Heflin.  She is survived by her sisters Bonnie Heflin Jones of Gulfport, MS and Patsy Heflin Vance of Union, MS.

She is also survived by her sons Dr. Barry Ricks (Beth) of Monroe and Billy Ricks (Alison) of Loveland, CO.  She leaves her cherished grandchildren – Kaitlyn, Perry, Mary Lu and Carter.

Her lifelong hobbies were spending time with family, traveling the country and world with B.L., and of course, cooking (incredibly good cooking).  Her favorite “hobby” though, was being an incredible, loving, fantastical Nanny to her boys, daughters-in-law and grandchildren.