Robert Joseph “Joey” Ricketson, former front-office team member and IT specialist for The Apopka Chief, died Monday from liver cancer while recovering from a Feb. 17 stroke. 

Ricketson, one of late Chief publisher John Ricketson’s three sons, served the Chief team for about 25 years, providing key insight and knowledge for the newspaper’s ownership transition in 2025. 

“Joey was a quiet but steady presence in the office,” Chief publisher J.C. Derrick said. “He was always willing to do whatever needed to be done, which made him an invaluable source of knowledge about Chief operations—from program passwords to institutional memory.”  

Ricketson faced a variety of health challenges throughout his life. He was given a 1% chance of living when he was born on Sept. 23, 1969, leading to “intuitive and positive” surgeries at Alachua General Hospital in Gainesville, said his mother Eileen Ricketson. 

After graduating from Leesburg High School in 1988 and the University of Georgia, Ricketson worked as a teacher, soccer coach, a Halloween Horror Nights makeup specialist, and artist.  

After Ricketson joined the Chief team in 2001, he contributed wherever he could. He sold office supplies, laid out labels, updated the website, and taught himself the design software necessary to lay out the legal and classified ad sections of the paper. He also learned how to design ads and enjoyed serving as a photographer. 

“Dad being in the paper business, I always grew up with a camera in my hands and a dark room at my disposal,” he said in a 2025 interview with the Chief. “This was when you actually stepped into a dark room and developed your film and shot negatives.” 

After MARC Media acquired the Chief in February 2025, Ricketson would still drive his mother to work, even though the commute lasted an hour each way. Because of medical issues, he could only use his left thumb and index finger, but he always accomplished much at work and “had the intelligence and ability to solve most any problem that was presented to him,” Eileen Ricketson said. 

Debrah Hayden, one of Ricketson’s closest coworkers and an administrative assistant at the Chief, met Ricketson in 2016, eventually becoming “more like brother and sister,” in Hayden’s words. 

“Joe and I worked next to each other, and I looked forward to seeing what was in store for that day. He was always teaching me something, even if it wasn’t work-related,” Hayden said. “He was a generous soul — he had this favorite store he would shop at, and he always brought cereals and snacks for my kids and the Chief!” 

Derrick noted that Ricketson loved Apopka and was dedicated to the Chief’s success to the very end of his life.  

“When I saw him at a rehab facility last month, the first thing he said to me was, ‘How is the paper?’” Derrick said. “He loved this place, and it is our honor to carry on his legacy by continuing the work.”  

Ricketson is survived by his mother Eileen Ricketson, twin brother Jerry Ricketson, younger brother Jamey Ricketson, nieces Logan Carney and Payton Ricketson, uncle Thomas Ricketson (Mary), aunt Gail Gibbs (Andy), cousins and many friends.