W.S. ‘Babe’ Sikes
W.S. “Babe” Sikes, 82, died Dec. 11, 2022, at his home on Anna Maria Island.
He was born Aug. 12, 1940, in Cobbtown, Georgia.
A resident of Anna Maria since the early 1960s, he and his wife bonded over a love of fishing and spent many days and nights with their daughter fishing at the city pier.
After discovering that office life and a career as an accountant was not what he wanted to do, Mr. Sikes started work at the Union Camp Paper Mill in Savannah, Georgia. From there, he became a master mechanic, welder and conductor at Borden’s Chemicals before being recruited to build the critical infrastructure needed to unload cargo ships at the newly emerging Port Manatee.
He proceeded to obtain a general contractor’s license and was a custom builder and contractor on the island and in the Bradenton area for more than 50 years. He either built or remodeled a significant number of houses on the island during the course of his career.
He mentored many younger contractors and tradesmen, and also owned a glass-and-mirror shop in Holmes Beach for a number of years.
There wasn’t anything he couldn’t build or fix and he always had some sort of project or job in the works. The only exception was his time working on puzzles at the Island Library, where the puzzle table is named in his honor.
There will be no service per his request. Arrangements were by Griffith-Cline Funeral Home.
Mr. Sikes is survived by his daughter, Julie Sikes Zatkovich, her husband, Mark, and grandsons Brian and Shaun; brother Preston and wife Shelby and their daughter Tracy.