Born in Minot, North Dakota, Van Sickle received a Bachelor of Science in Law degree from University of Minnesota in 1939.
He was an adjudicator for the United States Veterans Administration in Seattle, Washington in 1946.
He was a Title Attorney of the Bonneville Power Administration in Portland, Oregon from 1946 to 1947.
[2] Van Sickle was nominated by President Richard Nixon on December 10, 1971, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota vacated by Judge George Scott Register.
His service was terminated on April 21, 2007, due to his death in Bismarck, North Dakota.