God  saves  by  grace,  not by works and  that's a  good thing  for the rest of us, because  HELENA HICKS did many good works. On Thursday April 18th she was called to glory and reward for a
life well lived, a life given to service for her community and her beloved Baltimore.
Helena Hicks was born on Presstman St. in Baltimore MD on June 28th, 1934 co parents Helena Butler and William Sorrell. She had three older siblings Russell, Lillian, Merrial and a twin brother William Sorrell Junior all of whom preceded her into glory. Helena was known by her family and friends, particularly her childhood Mends as "Sister" or "Sissy".
Helena attended  Frederick  Douglass High  School and  graduated  in  1951. She earned  a BS in sociology  with  a minor in  philosophy  at Morgan  State University  in  Baltimore MD. While at Morgan Helena met Samuel A. Hicks who was to become her husband and together they produced two children Lynne and Wayne. Helena then went on to obtain her M.S.W. in Public Welfare and Psychiatric Counseling in 1960 from Howard University in Washington DC. Much later in life she obtained a PhD in Public Policy from University of Maryland The title of her dissertation was "Free Black Apprentices in Maryland as seen through court records from 1661 to 1865". Her dissertation, because it talked  about Free Black  People training  and  working  as skilled  craftsmen  during  the period of slavery in the United Sates proved to be controversial and led her into confrontation with the University of Maryland.
While Dr. Hicks was at Morgan she took  part in  an event that would  reverberate throughout her life and history itself. In January 1955 she and five other students were waiting to catch a bus and decided to go into Reads Drug Store to get out of the cold and get something to eat. Reads was a White only establishment at the time and refused them service. The students refused to leave until they  were escorted  out by  the police. The following  day  Reads decided  to  integrate all of their lunch  counters across the country. This action  preceded  the well known  sit-in  at Woolworths in Greensboro, North Carolina by five years.
She began her work career as a caseworker for Department of Social Services (DSS). From DSS she moved on to the Housing Authority of Baltimore City where she worked as Director of Resident Family  Services. She moved  from the Housing  Authority  of Baltimore City  to  the Department of Human  Resources as a special project manager. She moved  up  to  become Director of Office of Policy  Planning  and  Program Evaluation. Helena held  a number of different positions within the Department of Human  Resources eventually  retiring in  2004  as an  Executive Assistant to the Secretary of Human Resources.
Helena also taught classes at the University of Baltimore and Baltimore City College. She authored a number of publications that focused on Day Care including the Maryland State Handbook for Day Care Providers and a nine-half-hour series for PBS on Family Daycare. In addition to her dissertation on Black Apprenticeships in the sixteenth Century she authored a book chapter, "The Transforming Revolution in the World of Work," the book "Blacks in the New World." Other publications are not listed here.
Her life as a public servant, community  leader is well known  and  documented  in  the press. She will be remembered  as a President of the Grove Park  Neighborhood  Association, and  as a Commissioner for The Baltimore Historic Preservation Commission. Up until her mid-eighties she was battling  to  save Grove Park  Elementary  School from public sale. She worked  to  protect the Powder Mill Stream from runoff pollution, she worked to maintain zoning codes to protect Grove