Timothy John Hickey

July 24, 1955 - June 10, 2026

Timothy John Hickey, PhD, 70 years old, beloved son, brother, husband, step-father, father, cousin, friend, colleague, professor, mentor, and all around Irish mensch, passed from this life on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was born to Mary Kathleen McMullen Hickey (Kathy) and Michael Albert Hickey in Lincoln, Nebraska, on July 24, 1955. Preceding him from this life include: his mother, his father, his ex-step-mother Sandra Wiggins, and his cousins Eddie Hickey, Matthew Rose and Carol Phillips. Left to cherish his memory include: his wife of almost 33 years, Yasuko Ishibashi; step-daughter Shaye Cohn (Kyndra Heischman); daughter Caitlin Ishibashi (Scotty Miles); son Ryan Hickey (Kayla McKeon); his siblings (his first friends) Sheila Hickey, (Bruce Williams), Maureen (Moe) Hickey (Frank Ohmberger), Nora Utrup, Patrick Hickey (Andrea Kilbury), Daniel Hickey (Gwendolyn Gann-Hickey), and step-brother Jeff Bracey (Heather Faris); nephews Eddie Benavides, Josiah Williams, Gabriel Williams, David Hickey, and Ethan Hickey; former step-mother, Lynette Ousley; and many cousins, friends, students and colleagues.

Tim spent his formative years in New Mexico, being one of the first classes to graduate from the newly built Eldorado High School (class of '73). He was a gifted student and was given a Honda 90 motorcycle (with a governor), which he rode to Sandia High School to take 10th grade math classes while still in 9th grade at what was Hoover Junior High. He excelled in his course work and as an athlete. His high school gymnastics team took state 2 years in a row and he took first in state on parallel bars during that time. He graduated high school with honors and won a national merit scholarship which he used to attend Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He chose Brandeis because Abraham Maslow was on the faculty. Sadly, Maslow had passed before Tim could study with him. Upon graduation from Brandeis, Tim chose to go to the University of Chicago for his masters and doctorate degrees in mathematics. He returned to Brandeis in 1986 and was on the faculty there until he passed.

Tim was a well-respected academician and teacher, publishing or co-publishing 49 publications, and he was the author/co-author of 16 conference papers. As an undergraduate, he received the Louis Dembitz Award for Academic Achievement (Brandeis, 1976). In 1978, he earned the Award for Excellence in Masters Orals from the University of Chicago. He received a Graduate Fellowship from the National Science Foundation from 1978-1981. Also as a graduate student, he received an Award for Excellence in Teaching (1981 UC). Lastly, he received the Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer '69 and Joseph Neubauer Prize for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring (2012). Anyone who has been following Tim's journey with cancer will agree that he never stopped teaching and mentoring others.

Tim's childhood was full of love, laughter, family, and music. The house seemed to be full of people all the time, and when Tim was there it was the happiest. He rarely lost his temper. He was usually the voice of reason, although he could also be a little too passive at times. His high school friends easily talked him into having house parties when Mom was away or working at night. Tim came back to New Mexico for Christmas every year that he was in college and many Christmases thereafter. His first Christmas back he was a master juggler. It seems he went upstairs to complain to his upstairs neighbor about pounding on the floor and the neighbor ended up teaching him to juggle. This ended the complaint and gave Tim another skill at which to excel. Many people have learned to juggle from Tim and many family visits included juggling.

Tim met Yas, his soulmate, in 1992. They had their first date on Mother's Day. Yas was supposed to have a date with someone else and it got canceled, so she invited Tim instead. When Tim met Shaye and told her he was there to take her mom on a date, she told him, "The only reason my mom is going on a date with you is because the other guy canceled." Tim replied, "Well, it's my lucky day!"

He quickly fell in love with Yas and her daughter, Shaye. They were engaged after 6 months. The family got to meet Yas and Shaye that Christmas. We were all so happy that Tim found "the one." Mom died in June of 1993 and was sadly not a part of their beautiful wedding on Cape Cod, but we were comforted knowing that she knew Tim had a partner in life.

Caitlin Ayame arrived in May of 1995. Tim was over the moon being a father of a newborn. He happily held, fed, sang to, bathed and photographed Caitlin. In the summer of 1998, Tim received a call near his birthday announcing that Ryan Tai was born, and Tim got to complete his family. He said it was the best birthday present ever! Tim took to family life and was a happy parent and partner. He lived the quintessential New England life, apple picking in the fall, summer time at the Cape, spring walks and bike rides on the Emerald Necklace, and picturesque holiday feasts in the dead of winter.

Tim was a talented photographer and documented countless family events, from recitals to gigs to performances of Yas' students. He was a great "roadie" and supporter of Yas' summer musicals. He spoke of times when he and Yas would be on a long drive and she and he would write original songs for the performances. He encouraged and helped produce recordings of Yas' children's songs and Jazz standards. He was so proud of her work and loved supporting her. One of the many things he loved about Yas was listening to her sing and play the piano. He was a hardcore romantic and nothing is more romantic than having your talented wife sing and play songs from the American Songbook.

An amateur musician himself, Tim loved to sing - not always on pitch, but with great heart. He also played a little guitar, respectably well enough to accompany himself. For a time in the 80's, Tim met with a group of friends for potlucks and to sing songs from the Rise Up Singing Songbook. After that, he joined the Brookline Community Chorus and sang with them for many years. Moe joined him in the chorus when she lived with him in the mid-80's. He was encouraged by Yas on a recent trip to Japan to sing on an open-mic night. He was nervous, but had a great time!

Tim was an okay but not great cook. He once famously made a batch of cookies without a recipe. They were hard as a rock and looked like boulders. True to form he ate them, but no one else was willing to risk a broken tooth. He loved food and especially loved Yas' cooking. He said the only food he did not like was pickled beets. He especially enjoyed Japanese cuisine and was fortunate to have a talented Japanese chef as a partner.

Tim was part of a large extended family. He was in touch with cousins, second cousins, first cousins once removed, shirt tail cousins, exes of cousins, in-laws, ex-laws, you name it. If they were related he relished reaching out and keeping in touch. With his marriage to Yas, Tim gained even more extended family in the form of Yas's ex-husband. Tim embraced Joe Cohn and Joe's family. It was the epitome of a blended family. The Cohn's and Sjöholm's are going to miss the annual Thanksgiving Dinner Yas and Tim hosted.

When Tim's journey with cancer began, he did what he always did: he became introspective. He finished transcribing our maternal grandfather's memoir, and our father's memoir. He compiled a book of essays, entitled "Unitary Spirituality," which he hoped would "elevate the Scientific and Secular Buddhist world views in an attempt to effect real positive change in our world." His last writings were gathered in a book entitled "Cancer: An Unexpected Journey." All of his writings were self-published and are available on Lulu.com .

We siblings began weekly Zoom calls during COVID. After a while, the calls became monthly. When Tim got his diagnosis, they resumed to weekly and we couldn't be more grateful for the technology that allowed us to talk about what he was experiencing, as well as being able to share our love for each other and our gratitude for being a part of such a loving group of siblings. We laughed, cried, ranted about politics, and supported each other while also saying good-bye. We had every hope that Tim would rally once again, but alas, it was not to be.

The family is planning a celebration of life in late October 2026, in hopes of accommodating his colleagues, former students, friends and family. Please check his FaceBook page at https://www.facebook.com/tim.hickey724 for more information.

Written by Maureen "Moe" Hickey