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Born Sept. 28,1927, in Brooklyn, he was the son of Gustav and Meta Ficker.
In high school, he worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard prior to enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Corp. On June 11, 1949, at Zion Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, he married Ruth Nelsen. They moved to Fishkill and lived there for more than 60 years.
He worked at IBM for 35 years as a mechanical engineer until his retirement in 1987. He had a life long love of aviation. During the 1950s, he worked with Cole Palen restoring several World War I airplanes for a Hollywood movie and the future "Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome." Several of these airplanes are now in national museums.
He is survived by his children, Gary Ficker and his wife Dianna of Hyde Park, Robert Ficker and his wife Lorna of Poughkeepsie, Ann Bettina and her husband Richard of Milford, Mass.; grandchildren, Jamie and Billy Ficker, Leanne Ficker, Laura Uldrikis, and Andrew, Amy and Alex Bettina; and great-grandson Kyle Ficker.
He was predeceased by his wife, Ruth.
A private family service was conducted and burial followed at Fishkill Rural Cemetery.
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