Hicks was born as Doris Adela Nina Dand on a farm in Saltcoats, Saskatchewan, Canada. Her parents were Harold Dand and Email Kirkham. She had two brothers, Joe and Harold Jr. After her family lost crops to hailstorms, they travelled by train to settle in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia in February 1920, where she lived most of her life.

Following the graduation from Normal School, she taught in several one-room schools. In September 1937, she married Lawrence Hicks. Her widowed father-in-law welcomed the newly married couple into his home, where they raised four children: Marilyn, Nancy, Edward and Kirk.

Her husband died in 1992. As a centenarian, she moved to Wolfville to live with her daughter. As an Anglican she participated in many activities in St. James Anglican Church, including teaching Sunday school.

Doris Hicks died in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada on 21 November 2022, at the age of 110 years, 16 days. She was survived by five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.