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Family, colleagues pay tribute to Cuyahoga Falls attorney
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: April 6, 2016
Cuyahoga Falls attorney Ken Alan Fickey possessed a variety of talent and knowledge and would do anything to help family, friends and clients––even when clients couldn’t pay. This is how he is described by the many who knew and worked with him.
On Feb. 24, Fickey was killed in a tragic car accident. He was 46.
“My husband was a wonderful Christian man,” said his wife Jenny Fickey. “He walked the walk, treating everyone with kindness. He had a positive impact on so many lives and I am so proud of his legacy.
“His favorite moments were his everyday life as a father and husband. He loved music and singing and playing guitar with our family and friends.”
Born in Akron on May 23, 1969, Fickey was one of seven children. He and his siblings grew up in Northampton Township, now part of Cuyahoga Falls.
In 1987, Fickey graduated as a National Merit Finalist from Woodridge High School.
“Ken and I were only two years apart so we grew up together,” said his brother Karl. “He is one of the two most intelligent people I have ever met in my life.
“When I was learning to read and write in kindergarten and first grade, he learned with me. When he started school he was already ahead of everyone.”
As a child, Fickey was a history buff, said Karl. “My brother was like a sponge, he absorbed everything and could talk about anything.
“Whether the subject was astrophysics or Bart Simpson, you had better bring your ‘A’ game if you were talking to Ken,” said Karl, a manager of contracted transmission testing at FirstEnergy Corp.
Ben Fickey said his brother was always up for new challenges, including taking the SAT as a sophomore.
“When my brother Karl took his test Kenny decided to go along and Kenny ranked among the top 5 percent in the nation,” said Ben. “When people realized he was a sophomore they wrote it off as a fluke, but when he took it again as a senior he did even better, scoring among the top 1/2 percent in the nation.”
Ben said Fickey got into colleges around the country, but could not afford the tuition.
To save up, he went to work for his brother Ben, who owned the construction company BFC Inc. in what is now Cuyahoga Falls. “At one point or another all my brothers worked at my company.
“That summer, we got a letter from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, which said that Kenny could attend if he could pay just 10 percent of the tuition cost,” said Ben, now construction manager for S&C Electric Company in Chicago.
“We all tried to contribute and Kenny had some of his own money from working with me. He also took a janitorial position at the university to cover the costs,” said Ben. “Instead of living on campus, he lived with my sister in Pittsburgh and rode his bike to school.”
After receiving his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, Fickey moved back to the area where he grew up and continued working for his brother at BFC Inc.
He met his wife Jenny in 2000 at a Christmas in July party thrown by their friends. “We hit it off immediately and laughed all night,” said Jenny. “He told his friend it was love at first conversation.”
In 2006, Fickey graduated from The University of Akron School of Law and began sharing office space with John Daily, Thomas Haskins Jr., Jonathan Tucker, Brad Le Boeuf and Sidney Freeman in the Landmark Building in downtown Akron.
“I first met Ken when he was in law school,” said sole practitioner Haskins. “He was a law clerk in our office and we handled a lot of construction-related cases.
“Once he passed the bar and joined us, he provided a lot of technical assistance to us because of his background in the construction business.
“He was a good person and a good lawyer, who always made time to help anyone in need,” said Haskins. “He was the attorney who would help people who did not have any money.”
Haskins said Fickey always made it a point to be civil with other lawyers and in the courtroom. “You could not only trust his word, but the professional way that he dealt with everyone is something not everyone in the legal profession does today.”
He said Fickey handled a range of matters throughout his career including criminal, domestic, corporate and personal injury cases.
“Family was very important to Ken,” said Haskins. “He came from a close-knit family and he absolutely loved his own family. Getting married and having a daughter absolutely completed things for him.”
When the Landmark Building was bought by the city, Haskins moved his practice to White Pond Drive and Fickey, Daily, Freeman, Le Boeuf and Tucker moved into a building in Springfield Township that John Daily bought and remodeled.
Sidney Freeman, now of counsel at McNamara, Demczyk Co. said during the time they shared space, he became friends with Fickey.
“He was a very happy, positive guy who was not afraid to take on new challenges in life or the legal profession,” said Freeman.
“He was extremely bright and could discuss any subject,” said Freeman. “He was a ‘jack of all trades,’” said Freeman. “When we moved into our new building on Massillon Road in 2008, Ken helped us with any construction issues, even plowing the driveway. He was also someone you could turn to when the computers did not work.”
During his years at Carnegie Mellon, Fickey minored in choir, even singing in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Freeman said his expertise came in handy in 2012 when the Western Reserve Playhouse featured “Don’t Hug Me.”
“I was the producer of the show and on the board of the playhouse at the time and we had not done a good job advertising our auditions,” said Freeman. “I called up Ken and said ‘can you help me?’ He showed up with two of his friends from high school who performed and saved the day.
“Ken was one of the leads and he did an awesome job.”
Freeman described Fickey as the kind of person “you could call out of the blue for help and he would be there.”
In 2011, Freeman left the office to join McNamara, Demczyk Co. and Fickey remained until John Daily retired. Afterwards, Fickey built an office in his childhood home, where he had been living for years. While continuing to be a sole practitioner, he also worked part time with Thomas Haskins.
A member of the Akron Bar Association and the Star Lodge #187 F&AM in Cuyahoga Falls, Fickey’s family said he enjoyed hunting, fishing, fantasy football and was an avid poker player. He also served as an elder at the Bailey Road Christian Church.
“Ken and all of his siblings and friends loved a place in West Virginia known as ‘The Mountain,’” said Ben. “It was a cabin/camping spot in the Monongahela National Forest where we all spent time as children and continue to visit as adults.”
Fickey was laid to rest on Feb. 29 at Northampton Cemetery.
He’s survived by his wife, Jenny; daughter, Jane Rosemary; son, Joshua; brothers, Jack (Judy), Ben (Denise), Brian (Karen) and Karl (Pam); sister, Jill (Bob) George; numerous nieces, nephews and his Labrador Tyson.
His parents Robert L. and Rosemary and his sister Lori preceded him in death.
“During his calling hours at the Clifford-Shoemaker Funeral Home, thousands of people turned out,” said Ben. “It was amazing how much people loved him.”
“A lot of people miss him,” said Freeman. “I can tell you I do.”