AREA OBITUARIES – Ronald Duane Sikes

Ronald Duane Sikes, age 87, of Fulton, Ky., passed away peacefully in his sleep on Sun., Sept. 28, 2025, at his residence. 
He was born on March 13, 1938, in Winfield, Texas, to the late Lowell M. and Mable Black Sikes. 
The family moved to Tyler, Texas, when Duane was seven, and later moved to Chapel Hill, Texas. 
He graduated from Chapel Hill High School in the class of 1956. 
He went to work for General Electric (GE) in Tyler, Texas, after graduation. 
He enlisted in the Navy in 1960 and intended to make a career of it. 
He was an electrician on the Goldsborough and Ranger Navy Ships (he was in charge of the catapults on the flight deck). He served in Vietnam for six of the eight years he was in the Navy. He loved the Navy! His father passed away from an aneurysm while he was serving in Vietnam, and he was able to be flight lifted off of the ship’s deck with guns firing, so he could attend his father’s funeral. He and his parents had custody of his daughter, Teresa, so he asked for a hardship discharge in April of 1968, and was granted an Honorable discharge in May of 1968. They hated to see him go.
He continued his service in the Navy Reserves and went to work at Kelly Springfield/Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Tyler, TX, for 32 years as a maintenance electrician. 
He also continued his education at Tyler Junior College and was on the honor roll. He raced motorcycles doing flat track (until he broke his ankle), then motocross until he was 38 years old, winning many trophies; he was a competitor! He also worked out with weights and played racquetball. 
He started Mountain bicycling and was racing at age 60 plus and loved to win and add more trophies. 
After retirement, he and Andrea traveled in their motorhome, meeting many wonderful people and making lifelong friendships. They bought a second home in Colorado on the Western Slope above the Grand Canyon of the Gunnison, where they made more lifetime friends. 
He also loved water sports, the sound of the waves, and boating of different kinds. He kept up with politics, knowing all sides, but was a Conservative who loved his country! 
He was interested in history (Civil War, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, especially), always wanting to learn, and he could spell anything. Anthropology also interested him. 
In 2004, he and Andrea moved to Bandera, Texas (nnown as The Cowboy Capital) built a house, and he did roadbuilding with a friend (Ron Willis) for a while. Then he started managing a ranch (Deer and Cattle), and he found his love of ranching. 
He had a hay baling and hauling business when he was 14 years old, and helped his grandfather farm when he was just a small boy. 
In 2017, his mother-in-law, Ms. Mae Melton, passed away at 95 years old. She and his father-in-law, Mr. Otis Melton, still lived at home, so he decided that he and Andrea should sell out in Texas and move to live with Mr. Otis in Fulton. 
Duane is survived by his wife Andrea Melton Sikes, to whom he was married on Nov. 21, 1987, at Mission of the Bells Chapel, in Las Vegas, Nev. He is survived by three children, Dan (Mary) Sikes. of Fulton, Ky., Jeff (Angie) Sikes, of Whitehouse, Texas, and Jerry Sikes, of Whitehouse, Texas; his father-in-law, Otis Melton, of Fulton Ky., to whom he has been so wonderful to care for all these years; a sister-in-law, Connie (Kirk) Vowell, of Fulton, Ky.; his aunt and uncle Katherine (Larry) Henderson, of South Fulton, Tenn.; one nephew, Johnny (Morgan) Jamison, of Wingo, Ky.; as well as grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by one daughter, Teresa Sikes; two brothers, James Milton Sikes and Jerry Dan Sikes (upon Jerry Dan’s death, Duane raised his children); his mother-in-law, Mae Melton; and two grandchildren, Lowell Sikes, and Ethan Sikes.
He was a member of the Fulton Cumberland Presbyterian Church in South Fulton, Tenn. He was a former member of the Elks Lodge.
Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. on Sun., Oct. 5, 2025 at Hornbeak Funeral Chapel. Burial will follow in the Greenlea cemetery with Bro. Garrett Burns officiating. Visitation will be held at the funeral home 1:30 p.m. Sun., Oct. 5 until the hour of the service. Military Honors will be conducted at the cemetery.
Memorials can be made to: The Fulton Cumberland Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 5343, 1159 Parker Road, South Fulton, TN 38257, or to the Tunnels for Towers in c/o 2361 Hylan Blvd, Stanton Island, NY 10306.