Dawn Hickey

In August 2007, family and friends of Dawn Hickey gathered at her funeral, with many friends from the NJRK past and present. On behalf of the Kingdom, Andrew Parks gave this eulogy.

Today we gather to remember and to celebrate the life of our beloved friend, Dawn. Dawn was a loving, supportive, and caring wife, mother, and grandmother. She had many, many friends who became a part of her extended family. She was a diligent secretary to the Grippo family for fifteen years. She was the foundation for many lives, for people who could depend on her, who cherished her, and who will always remember her.

Dawn and Art became involved in the world of theater twenty-six years ago. During that time, the Hickey family befriended many actors and performers, and those actors and performers wanted nothing more than to take to the stage, show off their stuff, and bask in the applause of the audience. But Dawn never needed to be in the spotlight. She was content instead to help everyone else out, to help them achieve greatness while she looked on and smiled from the back of the theater.

We actually tried many times to give Dawn her stage debut, but she would have none of it. I think, looking back, it was actually hard for us, being who we were, to understand why Dawn would refuse the joy of being in the limelight. Perhaps that’s because it was hard for us to comprehend the kind of selfless love that drove Dawn to work so hard for others and never ask for anything in return. I can’t tell you the number of times Dawn has been asked to jump in at the last second and save the day. For example: “Dawn, we just realized we need 10 more peasant shirts sewn—by tomorrow!” “Dawn, I know we just finished a seven hour Festival Day in the sweltering heat and we all want to go home and collapse, but can you please clear the 10,000 messages off the voice mail when you get home?” And she always did it, she was always happy to help out, she was always glad to be the one to make sure the rest of us had what we needed to succeed and reach our goals.

In her one appearance at the NJRK, Dawn is knighted by King Arthur, himself, for her services to the Kingdom.

Dawn became most famous at the Renaissance Festival for the difficult job she managed for 20 years. What started out as a simple tent in the middle of a blazing hot field later become a tiny wooden booth, and eventually a full two story building which was dubbed affectionately “Dawn’s House”. Dawn became our “Angel of the Ticket Booth” and, in so doing, she had to deal with all the colorful, extraordinary, and sometimes strange people who crossed the threshold into our make-believe world. She also had to deal with people like me coming up every morning to ask her (usually several times in the same hour) how many people had shown up to the festival that day. And even if she was swamped all morning, she would drop whatever she was doing to do a quick tally for me, even if she could spy a mob of people walking up the path to start the next wave of ticket sales. It was a difficult, often thankless job, but Dawn always had a smile for everyone who came to see her throughout the day.

Everyone in this room is here because they love Dawn. And throughout the years, you always knew that your love for her was her greatest treasure. When you normally walk into a crowded room and exchange a quick hug with the first few people you meet, it doesn’t always mean a heckuva lot to those people. But if Dawn was there, you knew that your greeting meant so much to her. Because what Dawn cherished most were the people in her life: her husband, her children, her granddaughter, her friends.... You see, the reason she didn’t need to be in the spotlight was that her greatest joy was the happiness of other people, and when those she loved succeeded, there was nothing in the world that could make her happier.

I had the opportunity to talk to Dawn on the phone a couple of weeks ago. She had called our family to invite us to the Labor Day party, and she also wanted to catch up a bit, and find out how Kathy and the girls were doing. I didn’t understand fully at the time what she had been going through. She mentioned that she hadn’t been feeling well, but she was so excited about the party and having people over and entertaining them, and letting me know that she would be setting up the swimming pools for the kids, and all of the other preparations she was undergoing, that it was easy at the time to get lost in the exciting picture she was painting. But you see, that was Dawn. The only thing that mattered to her, the thing that she was most looking forward to during that difficult time, was making all of us happy.

Dawn’s selfless love was a gift she gave to each and every one of us, a gift that we can keep with us forever. If we can learn from her life, if we can be just a little more like her throughout the days and years ahead, everyone we know and love will benefit from it.

Thank you, Dawn, for the special love that you gave us. We will always miss you, but your example of kindness, caring, and generosity will always remain a part of our lives.

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