Lyle, Judy Hicks named Bend Christmas Parade grand marshals

Lyle and Judy Hicks have been named the grand marshals for the annual Bend Christmas Parade, to be held Saturday, Dec. 5 in downtown Bend, starting at noon.

Jake’s Truck Stop, now known simply as Jake’s Diner, has been an icon of Central Oregon life for almost four decades and Lyle Hicks has been part of that history since 1981.

After his Navy career, where he met his wife Judy an Australian native, Lyle Hicks came back to Bend. Born on Hospital Hill, the Central Oregon native started attending college at COCC to be an accountant. To support his family while taking classes on the GI Bill, Lyle took a job at Jake’s Truck Stop. That was the start of a new adventure he didn’t see coming.

The Wolfe Family, owners and proprietors of Jake’s, saw potential in young Lyle, placing him in charge of purchasi4ng and then making him diner manager in 1987.

Shelving his thoughts of being a CPA, Lyle found himself at home managing the diner for the next 23 years.

With the passing of Jake Wolfe in 2001, the future was uncertain. Kim Wolfe took over the day-to-day operations, but in 2004 decided to sell. It was a shock – Jake’s Truck Stop was closing. But Lyle and Judy Hicks had other plans.

The family gave them the “Jake’s” name and together the Hicks bought the restaurant and found a new location, where it is today.

In 2005, Jake’s Diner opened for business.

“It was tough that first year, but the community kept us alive. So we started thinking about things we could do to give back” stated Lyle.

One day, a member from the Bend Area Band of Brothers asked if they could use Jake’s Diner for their monthly meetings. With his own military background, Lyle was quick to extend the invitation, seeing the need to give this amazing group of heroes a place they could count on for a hot cup of coffee and a permanent location the organization could call home.

Today, the Bend Area Band of Brothers is 1,400 members strong ,including all of Central Oregon and a few counties from the Oregon coast, with a distinguished membership, boasting the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient, Bob Maxwell, who lives in Bend. The Hicks have dedicated an entire wall of the diner’s backroom to honor our military service men and women.

Lyle and Judy open the backroom of Jake’s Diner to host a $5 Poker Tournament every Monday night where all proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity. This event is open to the public. Over the past nine years, $45,000 has been donated to help build homes for those in need.

They collect donations for the Central Oregon Veterans Outreach (COVO) through the MOW (middle of winter) Down Cold program. Anyone that has good clothes and shoes can drop those off in the front waiting area of Jake’s year-round.

Lyle and Judy sponsor an annual trip for the WWII Band of Brothers members to attend an Oregon Ducks practice day, which includes a stadium tour.

The Hicks’ opened a new coffee shop called Three Goats Coffee in the Brookswood Meadow Plaza and all the grand opening receipts were donated to Grandma’s House. The three goats stand for: Coffee, Community and Compassion. Currently they are collecting “Toys for Tots” at Jake’s and Three Goats Coffee.

Lyle and Judy will be riding in a renovated Model A Phaeton owned by Kip and Cathy Payne for the parade followed by the Band of Brothers Float.

“We are so very excited to have the Hicks’ be Grand Marshal’s for the parade. They have done so much to honor those who served in our military and now it’s our turn to honor them” said Ernie Gilpin, parade chair.

The parade starts directly after the Jingle Bell run on Wall Street. For more information on the parade, please visit www.bendchristmasparade.com.