Harry Hillis, Jr., 89

Harry Hillis, Jr., 89, of Olney, passed away on Friday, December 8, 2017, at his residence, surrounded by his loving wife and children.  Harry was born on September 6, 1928, the son of Harry and Alma (Seymour) Hillis. 

Harry was married on January 20, 1951 to June Hamilton of Noble and they were married for 66 years at the time of his passing. Their lives were blessed with three children, Roger Hillis (and his wife Lisa) of Louisville, Kentucky, Sharon Harris (and her husband Mike) of Mt. Carmel, IL, and Annette Kramer (and her husband Rick) of Brighton, CO. In addition to his immediate family, Harry is survived by several sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews and cousins.

Harry and June were also blessed with seven grandchildren, Laura Harris, Lindsey Kingery (her husband, Brian), Ben Kramer (his wife, Debbie), Lesley Hillis, Kristen Harris, Alex Kramer and Jeremy Hillis.  In addition, they have five great-grandchildren, Braden, Kinley, Beckham, Parker and Camden.

Harry was preceded in death by his parents, Harry J. Hillis, Sr. and Alma Seymour Hillis, as well as his siblings, Wilma Weber, Marie Hillis and James Hillis.

Harry is perhaps best known as the long-time editor of the Olney Daily Mail. He studied journalism at Eastern Illinois University and worked both in radio and print media for many years. He is a member of the Illinois Sports Hall of Fame as a sportswriter.

After their marriage, Harry and June moved to Baltimore where he served in the US Army in Intelligence Training during the Korean War. After his discharge, they moved to Mattoon where Harry worked at WLBH radio station and then moved to Olney where they have lived ever since.

After retiring from the newspaper, Harry went to work at the East Richland school district as treasurer. In addition, he worked for many years as the secretary of the East Richland school board and the first secretary for the Illinois Eastern Community College board. He was acknowledged as the longest serving board secretary in Illinois history.  Harry also served the community for many years as a volunteer fireman.

Probably his most important and long-lasting contribution to the Olney community lies in the fact that Harry served the Lord as a member of the Olney Church of Christ. He served many years as an elder of the church, also serving for a period of time as one of the deacons. He taught Bible classes, preached many sermons, and shepherded the people of God in that good church in a way that has and will continue to influence many people to serve the Lord as well. Many souls will be saved eternally in heaven because of his godly leadership.

On September 30, 2017, Harry was honored with the Tiger Alumni Center’s 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award. On October 17, 2017, he was flown to Washington, D.C. by the Honor Flight of Southern Indiana chapter (Flight EVV7) in honor of his service to the United States of America in the US Army during the Korean conflict. The family is so grateful that he received both of these honors during his lifetime, so that he might realize how many others loved and respected him.

A visitation will be held from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Sunday, December 10, 2017, at the Kistler-Patterson Funeral Home in Olney.  A funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM on Monday, December 11, 2017 at the Kistler-Patterson Funeral Home in Olney, with burial following in Haven Hill Memorial Garden. 

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hospice of Southeastern Illinois.

The family would also like to thank Jessica, Krista and Ryan, along with the entire staff from Carle Richland Memorial Hospital, the rehab staff at Arch, all of the workers at Hospice, especially Cookie, Jennifer, McCartney and Ruth, private caregiver, Marilyn, and every doctor and nurse who helped care for our husband and father in his final days.