Hickman Leaules Dye III

Hickman Leaules Dye III “HL” passed away peacefully in his home on Sunday June 15, 2025 after an extended illness. HL was born to Hickman Leaules Dye II and Lucy Davies Sparrow on October 15, 1943 at Alachua General Hospital in Gainesville, FL. He spent much of his young life living between Jacksonville with his father and Gainesville with his Aunt Lucille “T” Crown. At age 17 HL joined the Florida Army national Guard where he served 6 years. While serving and in the years following, HL worked as a sales manager for Canada Dry Bottling Company. In 1978, he opened a Hawthorne favorite “The Fried Chicken Factory” with his father HL Dye II. In the early 1980s he opened an additional restaurant in Starke, FL where he met and married his wife Robin. He later opened another restaurant in Keystone Heights, FL that the two operated until the mid 1990s. After closing the Fried Chicken Factory, HL worked for a short time as a manager at the Western Steer Steakhouse and Director of Maintenance at Bradford Terrace Nursing Home both in Starke. For nearly three decades, HL worked in construction as a Jack of all trades and was well known around the Keystone Heights and Starke areas for his kindness, hard work ethic, and positive spirit.

HL is preceded in death by his father HL Dye II, his Aunt Lucille “T” Crown, his sister Bobbi D. Malcolm and his daughter Hailey L. Dye. He is survived by his loving wife of 34 years Robin Dye of Keystone Heights, FL, his daughters Aleshia Dye of Keystone Heights, FL and Leanne (Austin) Morgan of Keystone Heights, FL, his brother William “Bill” (Bobbie) Dye of Keystone Heights, FL, his sisters Becky Dye Wainwright of Jacksonville, FL,and Betsy Dye Bridgman of Hawthorne, FL, along with numerous nieces and nephews who he loved dearly.