Sybil O'Bera Vick

Sybil O’Bera Vick Sybil O’Bera Vick was born to Marcus Victor Heath and Clyde Oree Heath on November 7, 1925 in Huntsville, Texas. She passed away on Good Friday, March 25, 2016 in Huntsville. Sybil is survived by her daughter, Dr. Christina Vick. She was preceded in death by her husband of almost seventy years, Dr. George Vick, their daughter Adrienne Vick, her parents, and various aunts and uncles. Sybil had a unique childhood and teenage years growing up at the Goree Women’s Prison farm where her parents were warden (a position then called captain) and matron in the 1930s and 1940s. She graduated from Huntsville High School in 1943 where she met her future husband, then one-year teacher, George Robert Vick. They had a wartime wedding on Christmas Day 1943. She was eighteen; he was twenty three. While George served in the United States Army mostly in the European theater, Sybil worked toward a bachelor’s degree at Sam Houston State Teachers College—later Sam Houston State University—and earned a master’s degree in education in the 1950s. Sybil and George had a lifelong love of music, beginning with lessons with sisters Miss Louise and Miss Inez Powell. They passed on this love to their daughters, each of whom took piano lessons with Miss Louise for a number of years. Sybil and George sang in Huntsville’s historic first production of Handel’s The Messiah at Sam Houston’s Old Main auditorium on the evening of December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor Day. In light of the terrible events of that day, the choir thought no one would come; instead, the house was packed. Sybil and George sang in many subsequent productions of The Messiah over the years and also sang with the Bach Choir. For nearly forty years, Sybil and George had season tickets to the Houston Grand Opera, and they enjoyed many musical productions at SHSU from their young years to their senior years. Like her husband, Sybil was a born teacher. When George began a doctoral program at the University of Oklahoma in the late 1940s, Sybil taught preschool on the campus. For thirty years, she taught fourth grade at Grace Raymond Elementary School in the Aldine School District, until her retirement in 1990. For decades she also taught Sunday school classes at the Huntsville Church of Christ. She and George—who taught mathematics at SHSU for forty five years—were very active in their retirement, especially in their beloved church and the local chapter of the Texas Retired Teachers Association, among other organizations. Sybil and George were also avid travelers, visiting many American states, Canada, Great Britain, the USSR, Hawaii, Japan, China, Morocco, Crete, Rhodes, and every European country. Sybil Vick’s memorial service will take place on Tuesday, March 29 at 10:00 a. m. at the Huntsville Church of Christ, followed by a graveside service at the Adickes Addition of Oakwood Cemetery in Huntsville. Full obituary may be viewed and memorial condolences made to the family at www.shmfh.com.

Sybil O'Bera Vick

November 7, 1925 - March 25, 2016