Amy's Obituary

Amy Hocking 1977 ~ 2009 Amy Hocking was born on September 30, 1977, in Salt Lake city, Utah. She died on July 3, 2009, at the age of 31. She was a very pensive and happy child, always observing others, smiling her beautiful "gorilla" smile, serving and enjoying all those around her. She was beautiful as a child and later in her passing. Described as a "Porcelain Doll", she had perfect teeth, never needing a cavity filled. Amy attended pre-school and 1st Grade at Carden Memorial Preparatory School. She later asked to be home schooled, then returned to Quail Hollow Elementary in 5th Grade, in Sandy, Utah. She worked hard at school, took ice skating and violin lessons during this time, staring violin along with her sister at age 3. She went to many Suzuki institutes with her family at a young age. She was an avid reader, devouring books about various topics in very short time, and always carried a book around to read. Amy loved learning. She also read music very well, and was picked in her division to play a concerto at the Music Federation when she was 10. Amy also won an award at the local Cottonwood Heights skating rink in a small skating competition, studying privately with Nancy Grogan. She played with the All-City children's Orchestra for eight years, performing in schools and for many exciting concerts serving the community from grades 1-6. She also played with the Hocking Quartet (a family group) which played at the governor's mansion and many other venues at a very young age. Amy attended Albion Middle School and participated in the orchestra, dance company, and made good grades. She enjoyed making videos with friends and sisters. When she attended Brighton High, she served on the ZCMI Fashion Board, and became the wallpaper in the "juniors" department at the downtown ZCMI due to a photo-shoot, from which her pose was picked to be bigger than life in their store. Amy attended LDS wards with her family while growing up. She enjoyed the Young women's programs and attended with her older sister, learning to ski and may other skills. She sang, played her violin, gave talks, and enjoyed girls' camps. Amy learned to snowboard and often was in the mountains with her husband Sonny on snowboard trips, and with sisters every chance she could go. In Las Vegas, she attended Clark High School for a short while, then returned to Brighton in Salt Lake City. While living in Indiana she attended Harrison High School. Amy made friends quickly and always enjoyed people. Upon returning to Utah, Amy worked at BMW of Murray for many years and loved her supervisor, Linda. She was currently working for Mindquest of Sandy, Utah. Amy was married to Sonny Ricks on the 16th of March, 2004, in Kauai, Hawaii. They traveled extensively together, visiting many countries such as Wales, Scotland, Germany, England, Netherlands, Ireland, Mexico, Canada, Czech Republic, and Italy. Theirs was a relationship of unusual devotion, and great love for one another. Amy will be remembered most for her gorgeous, perfect smile, her sweetness and caring for others to the point of not telling anything of her own that might worry others, and always focused on defending others with great passion. She was always very dedicated to her many friends, and made sure they had the time of their lives in every activity. She helped her mother by playing in "Music from the Heart Children's Orchestra", where she returned as a paid player and sat side by side many children to help them play well in 2008. She enjoyed sitting in the Taylorsville Symphony for a concert with her mother as a stand partner. She was looking forward to preparing to be a mother some day, and especially worked hard at this in her last few months. Amy's gifts were always particularly thoughtful. She always seemed so inspired when giving, and that itself was a gift. She restored to all her family an old album we missed listening to for Christmas, found just the right color of bathroom supplies, and was very observant of needs of others. She loved her four cats, most of which were strays she took in, with whom she interacted daily. Amy is survived by her husband, Sonny Ricks of Salt Lake; four sisters: Alisa (Boston), Hayley, Heidi, and Cali Hocking of Salt Lake City; her father, Duncan John Hocking (Angela) of Pontypool, Great Britain; her mother and step-father, Seth and Susan Wilcox of West Valley City; her mother-in-law, Ingrid Ricks of Ogden; seven sisters and brothers-in-law, four aunts, one uncle, and many cousins in Indiana, Georgia, and South Carolina, and Utah. Also surviving are Amy's five step-brothers and sisters, and 12 step-nieces/nephews residing in Utah. A viewing will be held Sunday night, July 12, from 6-8 p.m. at the Wasatch Lawn Mortuary, 3401 Highland Dr., Salt Lake City. A service honoring Amy's life accomplishments will be held at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary, Monday, July 13, at 2:00 p.m. All are welcome. Any donations can be directed to 2896 Imperial Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84106.