MILFORD - John Goodman Hickle, 82, of Milford, died Monday, Feb. 21, 2011, after a valiant battle with diabetes and heart disease. Born April 3, 1930, in Pratt, Kan., he was the son of the late Lyman and Virginia Hickle. He attended Wichita State University and worked for the Boeing Aircraft Company in Wichita. He enlisted in the Air Force and was stationed at Griffis Air Force Base in Rome, N.Y., where he met the love of his life Stella Wojtasik Jecen, who he married Feb. 9, 1963. He was a scuba instructor and traveled throughout the Northeast with a diving club. While diving in the Thousand Islands Seaway with his wife, they found an ancient Native American Vessel that they donated to the National History Museum in Albany, NY. He was a Vietnam veteran. John was assigned to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland and subsequently transferred to Dover A.F.B., Delaware where he retired from the Air Force. After his military retirement, he worked for the Department of Corrections in Georgetown. In his spare time, he was a Charter Boat Captain working out of Indian River, on his boat the Kings Ransom. He was an avid hunter and fisherman. He enjoyed the Outer Banks in Hatteras Island, N.C. He and Stella spent many wonderful times in their camp, the Gidget, which is their second home. He loved NASCAR and enjoyed watching John Wayne movies. He is survived by his wife, Stella; his daughter, Barbara Townsend and her husband John, of Leonardtown, Md.; his son, Anthony Jecen of Felton; granddaughter, Andrea Montgomery and her husband Bruce of Leonardtown, Md.; grandson, John Jecen, of Milford; two great- grandchildren, Haley and Hilton Montgomery of Leonardtown, Md.; and a special cousin, Merlin Michaels of Wichita, Kan. Memorial services with military honors will be held on Monday, Feb. 28, 2011, in the Chapel of Delaware Veterans Cemetery, Patriots Way, Millsboro. The family has requested that no flowers be sent. Arrangements by Lofland Funeral Home, Milford.