John A. Hickel, 81, of Watford City, ND, passed away Tuesday, February 14, 2023 at the McKenzie County Hospital in Watford City, ND.

John Anton Hickel was born on September 2, 1941 in Wildrose, ND. He was the 6th child of Anton and Mabel (Woodside) Hickel. He attended school in Ray, ND where he played basketball for the Ray Jays which he bragged about often.

He met Marlene Boots in Watford City and was married on September 19, 1963. To this union, 3 children were born. In 1975, he went to work on an offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico for 2 years. After, he relocated to Sidney, MT where he continued to spend his life working in the oilfield for different companies and in many different capacities, including tool pushing for Brinkerhoff Signal until they sold out in the late 1980’s. He took a break from the oilfields after the oil bust in the 80’s and bartended in Sidney for a few years before going back to drilling on the rigs.

He bought a lot at Tobacco Gardens in 1984 where he built a life and home. He loved spending time fishing and ultimately retired there in 2001. He made many lifelong friends and caught many whoppers (according to those fish tales he would tell) while living at the lake.

He moved away from Tobacco Gardens and to Watford City in 2019 as his health started to decline. He enjoyed living at Hillside Court where he was known to buy a six pack of beer and go walk around sharing and visiting with the ladies. Living in town gave him many more opportunities to spend time with his kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids. He was always happy to join in for a family meal, watch any and all games on TV. John greatly enjoyed watching his granddaughter Harlee, perform her dance routines and play golf.

As a member of the Eagles Aerie #3543, one joy in his life was going to the club and playing cards with the guys. He could tell stories for hours about the card games, right down to who didn’t play the hands correctly. In his opinion, he was the only person who knew how to play the game of racehorse and pinochle correctly.

In November of 2022, John suffered a mild stroke and spent the last weeks of his life at the McKenzie County Hospital where he passed peacefully in the early morning of February 14, 2023.

John is survived by his son, Ellis (Kris) Hickel; daughters, Dana Amon, Rita Olson; brother, James (Angie) Hickel; sister, Wilma Hillstead; grandchildren, Anthony Goethe, Kristina Rill, Kenna DeMary, Joshua Jones, Darin (Kaycee) Hagerud, Amanda (Tanner) Westlake, Harlee Olson, Casey (Keanna) Hickel, Cody (Kayln) Hickel; and great-grandchildren, Trynitee, Evelyn, Zoey, Callum, Haylee, James, Jasmin, Jadyn, Lawerance, Hunter.

John was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Albert, Wallace, Dean, Tony; brother-in-law, Dale Hillstead; son-in-law Wayne Olson; and great-grandson, Charles Jr.

John will always be known for his ability to tell a joke and make people laugh. Even if nobody else laughed, he did, with a huge belly laugh. He was one of a kind and will be greatly missed by all that knew him.