Dr. John F. Hickman decided to specialize in psychiatry because the field allowed him to heal people and build relationships.

He also had a brilliant mind and a passion for learning, especially about medicine, said his wife, Betsy Hickman of Dallas.

Dr. Hickman, 77, died Wednesday at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas of complications of juvenile diabetes, which he had battled for more than 60 years.

Services were Saturday at University Park United Methodist Church, where he was a member. He was buried in Hillcrest Memorial Park.

Dr. Hickman considered becoming a neurosurgeon while in medical school, but he shifted to psychiatry after hearing a surgeon tell a couple that their child probably had three months to live.

"With neurosurgery, he could sometimes only give people months of life," Mrs. Hickman said. "He knew he could do more with psychiatry."

Dr. Hickman was born in Danville, Ill., and moved to Dallas when he was 2 years old.

When he was 14, doctors told him he had juvenile diabetes and would not live very long.

After graduating from Texas Country Day School, now St. Mark's School of Texas, he received his bachelor's degree from Southern Methodist University.

As an SMU undergraduate, he worked with researchers at Texas Instruments and Southwestern Medical School, now UT Southwestern Medical Center, to create a device to measure oxygen consumption of polio patients who were confined to an iron lung. The research helped him decide to become a doctor.

Dr. Hickman received his medical degree from UT Southwestern. He did his internship in Dallas and his residency at the University of Pittsburgh's Western Psychiatric Institute.

He began his medical practice as staff physician and senior partner at Timberlawn hospital in Dallas.

Dr. Hickman worked across Dallas and served as the physician for the Dallas County Jail and psychiatrist for the Dallas County Sheriff's Department.

He was board-certified in forensic psychiatry and was a consultant to the Justice Department and the Army Air Force Exchange System. He was medical director for New Palace, a former drug and alcohol rehabilitation treatment facility.

He entered private practice in 1968 and taught third-year medical students from UT Southwestern.

Dr. Hickman – a 50-year member of the American Medical Association – practiced in Dallas until December 2008.

In addition to his wife, Dr. Hickman is survived by three sons, John Hickman and James Hickman, both of Dallas, and Maj. Thomas Lewis of Colorado Springs, Colo.; his father, Wes Hickman of Dallas; and a brother, Bob Hickman of Buena Vista, Colo.

Memorials may be made to Dr. John F. Hickman Scholarship Award at the Southwestern Medical Foundation, 2305 Cedar Springs Road, Suite 150, Dallas, Texas 75201-7805.