Mary Margaret 'Cookie' (Riedinger) Hickman

Mary Margaret 'Cookie' (Riedinger) Hickman, age 78, went home to Jesus on July 7, 2023. She had been ill for a few months and bravely took her final breath at Valley Hospital.

She was born on March 19, 1945, to Carl and Edna Riedinger. The family moved to the Palouse area in 1948, and she graduated from Palouse HS. She married Don Hickman on Feb 17, 1967, and they moved to Spokane. In February of 1977, they moved to the Spokane Valley. They were married 52 years at the time of his passing in 2019.

Mary was a stay-at-home Mom and 'Avon Lady' until their children were raised. She later became employed at Rite-Aid and then Group Health Cooperative as a Pharmacy Tech for nearly 14 years, leaving to help with childcare of her youngest grandchild.

Cookie was a loving woman with a fun spirit...and certainly a bit of sass. She loved Jesus and adored her children, grandchildren and sole great-grandchild. She enjoyed spending time with them and bragging on them to anyone she came in contact with. She and Don really embraced supporting their children at all their sporting events and being proud members of the WVHS Booster Club. She also was a longtime fan of Gonzaga basketball, Mariner baseball and Seahawk football. She enjoyed butterflies, puzzles and was incredibly good at playing the card game, Nertz. Many laughs and late nights were spent around the table playing cards.

She is survived by her brother John Riedinger, son Monte Hickman (Sabrina), daughters Julie Stern (Tom) and Donnette Zimmer (Steve), 10 beloved grandchildren - Amanda, Tyler, Katie, Hosanna, Natalie, Lindsay, Billy, Luke, Gracie and Josh - and one great-grandchild - Jett. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Don, and many siblings - Sue Oxford, Jim, Nancy Perrine, Carleen Kriebel, Bob, Bill, Judy Rice and Donald and Donna (twins passing shortly after birth).

The service to celebrate Cookie's life will be Saturday, July 22, at 3 p.m. at Pines Cemetery/Chapel (1402 S Pines Rd, Spokane Valley, WA), with a reception to follow at Tom & Julie Stern's residence.