William (aka Bill) Franklyn Mervyn Hicks of Boston, Massachusetts passed away April 3, 2023 at the age of 82. Bill was born on December 12, 1940 in Montreal Canada and was the only child of Gertrude Ellmae Hicks and Franklyn James Hicks. He first came to the United States to attend high school at the Putney School in Vermont. After graduating from Putney in 1958, he attended Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, graduating with a BA in Government in 1963. During college he took a year’s break between his sophomore and junior years to work in the Northwest Territories of Canada for his godfather, Mervyn “Red” Dutton, who was a businessman, professional hockey player, and former President of the NHL. Following his time at Harvard, Bill went on to study law at Boston College Law School, graduating in 1968, where he was Order of the Coif and Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review. He was the first Editor-in-Chief in the country to devote an entire issue of the law review towards environmental law.

Bill spent most of his career in state government, where he worked for the Secretary of Environmental Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and also served as the Commissioner of the Metropolitan District Commission. Bill also spent a year working for the Securities and Exchange commission in Washington, DC. His main interest, though, was environmental law, and Bill’s work with the Secretary of Environmental Affairs was instrumental in developing the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act. After working several years for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, he worked in his private practice until 2002 but eventually returned to his government work as General Counsel to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation before retiring in 2010.

Working in private practice allowed Bill the flexibility to take a more active role in his two youngest daughters’ extracurricular activities and schooling. Bill served as the President of the Boston Latin School Association, where two of his daughters attended high school. He also passed along his passion for sports to his children, including taking on an active role in coaching his daughters’ little league baseball teams through Hill House. Following his daughters aging out of little league, Bill continued to be active with Hill House, acting as the Commissioner of the little league for several years.

Hockey was a major love of his. He and a few fellow Putney classmates, some also Canadian, even built an outdoor hockey rink so they could continue to play their favorite sport while attending high school. Originally a Montreal Canadiens fan, he became a Boston Bruins fan after living in the Boston area for many years. Following the news of Bobby Orr being drafted by the Boston Bruins in 1966, Bill became a single-seat season ticket holder, later expanding his season tickets to a broader group and adding additional seats. This Bruins STH group and the legacy of his love for hockey continues today under the care of his daughter Emily Claire Kincaid Hicks.

Bill is survived by his two former spouses, Beatrice Phear (nee Edey) and Susan Marie Eastham, his four children, Catherine Findlay Hicks, David Maitland Hicks, Susan Ashley Eastham Savage (nee Hicks) and Emily Claire Kincaid Hicks, two sons in-law, Jim Stallard and Dan Savage, a daughter in-law, Holly Johnson, and three granddaughters, Grace Findlay Stallard, Findlay Kincaid Savage, and Madeleine Emily Savage.

A Celebration of Life will be hosted by his family at Dolan Funeral Home, 1140 Washington Street, DORCHESTER on Saturday, May 6th from 2-3pm with a reception to follow from 3-6pm.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Hill House (https://www.hillhouseboston.org) or to the MSPCA-Angell (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/william-fm-hicks)