Robert Wick filled multiple roles, touched many hearts
Early life

Moving West
Beginning in 1976, Wick and his three children would spend parts of the year in New York and in Sierra Vista, Ariz., where his brother was the publisher of the Sierra Vista Herald and the Bisbee (Ariz.) Daily Review. They settled in 1980 in Hereford, Ariz., a rural community near Sierra Vista. Wick, as a single parent, was devoted to raising his children while increasingly being involved in the family newspaper business.In 1978, Wick’s daughter, Rosie, who knew Aida Estellean Conrow through a friend, engineered a “blind date” of sorts. “My dad,” Rosie told Estellean, “wants to ask you for a date.” Estellean, too, was a single parent raising a son, Horace, and worked at Fort Huachuca, a major communications Army post in Sierra Vista. Their kids shared meals and backgammon and soon a romance bloomed. One date included a visit to Wick’s sculpture studio which was then located on the second floor of the Bisbee Daily Review.As they were getting to know one another, Wick’s first prominent bronze, “Bending Head,” was being completed. Today, it is in the courtyard of the Wick Building in Sierra Vista.They married in 1980 and celebrated 42 years of love, children, family, travel, business partnerships and political campaigns – all the ups and downs of a long, endearing marriage - which was blessed with a son, Francis Wick, of Sierra Vista. Wick later adopted a son, Horace Wick, and daughter, Destiny Wick. Both survive him.
Wick Communications
Wick and his brother Walt bought out the shares of their uncle, James Wick, in 1965 and were partners with their father, Milton. After Milt’s death in November 1981, they assumed controlling shares and interests. The company was restructured with daily and non-daily newspapers combined into a single entity which today is Wick Communications. With their shared leadership, the company expanded into markets in Oregon, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, California, Alaska, and Colorado. They also grew their existing newspapers in Arizona and Louisiana. The company’s first newspaper outside of Niles, Ohio, was the Daily Herald in Roanoke Rapids, N.C. It was sold in 2017.All of the legacy and new media had a primary focus: to serve, investigate and advocate for the community’s best interests. The publishers who worked with the two brothers considered them colleagues, rather than corporate figureheads.Always encouraging, Wick-associated publishers recalled Robert’s warm notes of encouragement, his passion for community newspapering, his quirky – and often applicable – ideas to market these newspapers. He moved with ease between publishers and fine artists and sometimes brought along a publisher to the foundry he used in Athens, Ohio when casting a bronze. He was a great conversationalist; he enthusiastically shared insights and laughter.Mike Quinn, a Wick-associated publisher in LaPlace, La., and later in a joint ownership (Lake Havasu, Ariz.) recalled, “Bob was a remarkable man with a passion for truth. He looked for it in the way news is covered. He looked for it in art. He asked those who worked in his company to question, question, question and to be unafraid of either the questions themselves or of the answers. He was enigmatic in the best way: a likable, kind man who gave more than he took.”Will Chapman, a publisher with Wick Communications in New Iberia, La., and company executive for 37 years, noted, “Bob was always interested in what was best for the newspapers his family published and their readers and advertisers, the communities they served and the people who worked at those newspapers. He and his brother Walt had lots of great ideas and gave their publishers the freedom to publish the news and editorial stands which best served local readers. He had a quick smile and was a good listener. Bob was always interesting and fun to be around. I was lucky to know him.”Both Walt and Bob Wick were inducted into the Arizona Newspaper Association’s Hall of Fame in 2004.
Environmentalist, Astronomer, Philanthropist
In 1984, Wick was part of a group that sought to reduce copper smelter pollution in southeastern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico. Groups Against Smelter Pollution (GASP) had a mission of healthy citizenship, preservation of the natural environment and an appreciation of the economic connections between the two countries. There were three smelters in Douglas, Ariz., Cananea, Sonora, and Nacozari, Sonora. Together, the smelters produced the “gray triangle” that blighted the San Pedro Valley and its neighboring communities of Sierra Vista, Bisbee and Douglas. There were many days when the air was stagnant, hazy and residents of those communities couldn’t see the mountains nearby.The group pressured elected officials from both countries and Phelps-Dodge executives. The push was for P-D to meet the Clean Air Act of 1986. The group painstakingly documented health and environmental effects of the people who lived on both sides of the border. In July 1986, the Environmental Protection Agency refused to renew a Phelps-Dodge exemption to the law and the smelter in Douglas was closed in 1987. The smelters in northern Sonora significantly reduced emissions.Dick Kamp, founder of Smelter Crisis Education Project (SCEP), was hired to report solely on environmental issues in Arizona, California, Louisiana and Colorado. The pledge of a journalist in this arena was unique to community newspapers.Conversely, Wick found himself opposing protestors and environmentalists during the early 1990s with the placement of two deep-space telescopes atop Mount Graham in Safford, Ariz. Wick sought sensible and practical applications in order to site the popular observatory.He was also a member of the University of Arizona’s astronomy board and worked toward solving light pollution so the residents of southern Arizona could enjoy dark skies.Wick planted more than 1,000 seedling trees over a 10-year period on his land in the Mule Mountains near Bisbee.Many non-profits have been generously supported by the Robert J Wick Family Foundation:St Vincent de Paul (food bank), Southern Arizona Children’s Haven, Salvation Army, Amerind Foundation, Inc., NAMI, E-Tech International, Boys and Girls club, to name a few.The Wick Poetry Center was created in 1984 by Walt and Bob Wick and founding director, Maggie Anderson. The Wick brothers both lost sons tragically, and the center was created to support young poets. The Stanley and Tom Wick Poetry Prize was created as a sustaining award to commemorate their lives. Current director, David Hassler, continues to grow and develop the WPC in educational, therapeutic and collaborative ways. For many summers, he brought students to Bob and Estellean’s home in the Mule Mountains near Bisbee, for poetry workshops and to experience the Sonoran Desert, culminating in community poetry readings, live music dancing and joyful revelry.
Living Sculptures

Survivors are: wife Estellean Wick, daughter Cornelia Gun (husband Alan Gun), daughter Rosie Wick (husband Sean Fitzpatrick), son Horace (BJ) Wick (partner Natalie Gomez), son Nate Wick (wife Tera Wick), son Francis Wick (wife Mandy Wick), daughter Destiny Wick. Grandchildren Tristyn Wick, Gabriel Gun, Tres Wick, Gia Gun, Sunny Wick, Dorothy Wick, Sebastian Wick and Savannah Wick. And many nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws and many, many friends.
Wick also had a deep appreciation and love for the many sculpture assistants he had over the years, the most enduring, Mr. Phillip Estrada. He was also grateful for the personal help and friendship of Mrs. Marita Coffman and Mr. Eulalio Leal.
Services will be held at noon Saturday, Jan. 22. Family and friends are kindly asked to RSVP Wendee.grinde@pb8.ef5.myftpupload.com for attendance.