Hickey, Thomas J., 1930-2016

Thomas J. Hickey was born on January 4, 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska to parents John S. and Ann Hickey (Donovan). He received his degree in education at the University of Omaha (now the University of Nebraska Omaha) before serving in the Korean War as part of the United States Army. Hickey moved to North Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1960s, living with his father while running his snowmobile business, Tom Hickey Recreation, and working as a brakeman for the Union Pacific Railroad. In 1972, he began working as a member of the Clark County Grand Jury, and filed as a Democratic candidate for Assembly District 18, where he served three legislative sessions until 1982.

In 1981, just before his final year as an assemblyman, Hickey married Cuban widow Lilliam Lujan, a member of the Nevada State Board of Education with four sons. Hickey won election to the Nevada State Senate in 1983, a position he held until 1994 when he lost reelection. He served on many committees during his tenure as an assemblyman and senator, including chairing the Committee on Agriculture, the Senate Committee on Government Affairs, and the interim Committee on High-Level Radioactive Waste. After his 1994 retirement, Hickey and his wife remained politically active, continuing membership in some of the many organizations he was a part of such as the Nevada Crime Commission, the Southern Regional Allocation Commission, the Men’s 100 Club, the Knights of Columbus, the Boy’s Club of Clark County, the State of Nevada Americanism Committee, the American Judicature Society, the Hi-Nooner Toastmasters, the North Las Vegas Junior Chamber known as the "Jaycees", the Optimists Society, the Sons of Erin, local Elks and Lions clubs, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the American Legion. He also served two terms on the Taxi Cab Authority Board. Hickey died on October 19, 2016

Sources:

Whaley, Sean. “Former state legislator and labor supporter Tom Hickey dies at age 86.” Las Vegas Review-Journal, October 20, 2016. Accessed May 2019. https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/nevada/former-state-legislator-and-labor-supporter-tom-hickey-dies-at-age-86/

“Thomas Hickey obituary” Las Vegas Review-Journal, October 2016. Accessed May 2019. https://obits.reviewjournal.com/obituaries/lvrj/obituary.aspx?n=thomas-hickey&pid=182487132

Thomas J. Hickey, interview by Dana R. Bennett, November 18, 2008, transcript. Nevada Legislature Oral History Project. Accessed May 2019. https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Division/Research/LegInfo/OHP/transcripts/Hickey.pdf

Nevada Legislators Guidebook: Biographical Entry for Thomas Hickey, c. 1980.

“Businessman Tom Hickey to run for Assembly Seat.” Las Vegas Review-Journal, June 13, 1972.

“Senator seeking re-election.” Las Vegas Review-Journal, July 25, 1986.