Victor Ray Hillman

Victor Ray Hillman, age 89, passed away peacefully at his home in the Middleton Community on October 24, 2019.

Victor was born July 21, 1930, to Ferdinand “Ted” Hillman and wife Lois Avery Toby in Barksdale, TX. Victor grew up in Bandera and graduated from Bandera High School in 1948. He attended Tarleton State College and then Texas A&M College. He graduated from TAMC in 1952 whereupon he was commissioned as 2nd Lt in the US Army. He was stationed in Greenland during the time of the Korean Conflict and served until 1954. That same year he married Jeffie Mae McCoy on December 4th.

Victor was employed by the Texas Extension Service and moved to Sierra Blanca, TX, to be the Hudspeth County Ag Agent. There he and Jeffie had three daughters… Vicki Sue, Marilyn Kay and Tracy Leigh… all born in El Paso, TX. In 1962, while trying to get closer to both his & Jeffie’s widowed mothers in Centerville, he accepted a job in Livingston, TX. There he served as the County Agent for Polk County. A year later he was able to get even closer to Centerville by accepting the job as Normangee ISD Ag teacher. Three years later, in 1966, when the County Agent’s position came open for Leon County, he applied, was hired and moved his family to Centerville where they lived in the Middleton Community. Victor was busy many week nights and week-ends with 4-H activities. He also was a member of the Lion’s Club and served in various positions. In 1969, when Victor was president of the Lion’s Club, they were awarded the State Conservation Award. This was notable since there were 133 entries for this award. They were deemed the best group for trying to preserve wildlife and wildlife conservation. This was during the years of the Wild Game Supper that raised funds for the library.

In 1971 he resigned from being county agent and began teaching Ag at Centerville High School. This was all done in order to have more time at home for the family and ranch work, but… he became almost as involved with FFA. He taught for three years and then began working for Blacklands Production Credit Association. After a brief time with them he was hired by the Normangee State Bank in 1976. In 1986 he was elected as President of the bank’s board of directors. He held the office of president for over 20 years. He retired from the bank in 2003, but continued to serve on the board.

Besides 4-H, FFA and Lion’s Club, Victor was president for many years for the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery Association. He also served as a Region VI Education Service Center director from 1980-1989. But the most important part of Victor’s life was his work as a preacher for both the Normangee Church of Christ and then later the Centerville Church of Christ. He served as an elder for the Centerville Church of Christ from 1984 -2007. Victor was such an example to all around him and was always willing to lend a helpful hand, whether it be physical, spiritual or financial. There are countless times Victor opened his wallet for peoples’ needs; many of those times without any expectation of being repaid. A respected friend and business partner of Victor’s paid him high respect by telling his daughters, “Victor is one of the most Godly men I know and you get to call him Daddy”.

When Victor enjoyed better health he liked to do his ranch work and plant his beautiful garden. He loved to share the bounty from his garden with countless people.

Victor was preceded in death by both of his parents; his wife Jeffie Mae McCoy; brothers, John Avery, Horace, Ken and Keith Hillman; sister Ruby Lois and sons-in-law Stewart Wayne Gregory and Glenn David Jones.

Surviving family members include his daughters, Vicki Gregory Mullen and husband, Phillip of Centerville, Marilyn Jones of Hawley, Tracy Garvin of Richmond; his brother, Ernest Hillman and wife, Jackie of Martinez, CA; his sisters-in-law, Louise Hillman of Granbury and Mollie Peters (Tracy) of Bryan; his grandchildren, Jace Mullen (Michelle) of Jacksonville, FL, Amy Mangrum (Brendan) of La Porte, James Mullen (Renee) of Bryan, Kim Sisco (Jesse) of Lufkin, Ashley Allen (Ben) of Wichita, KS, Hailey Steele (Wes) of Hawley, Heather Jones of Hawley, Hannah Jones of Dallas and Smith Garvin of Richmond, TX; his great-grandchildren Sydney & Ryder Mangrum, Darian Burns & Susan Mullen, Elias, Avery, Maia & Rosemary Sisco, Leah, William & Steven Allen, Kendall & Ellie Steele and numerous cousins, nieces & nephews.

The family would like to acknowledge the caregivers that have lovingly helped the family during the past five years. Without Carolyn Smith, Paula & Dale Hudson, Donna Kominczek, Andrea Garcia, Irene Villarreal, Janis Mathews and Carol Brooks we would not have been able to keep “Pop” at home. They served him with such respect, love and compassion and we are forever grateful. We would also like to thank nurses Hollie, Dannie and Casey of Bristol Hospice. They provided us with such peace of mind knowing they were going to be there to check on him these last few months. They were invaluable during his last week of life. Before hospice began working with Daddy we were privileged to have Dr. Head who was priceless to us in Daddy’s care. A big thank you to all.

A funeral service will be held 3 P.M., Sunday, October 27, 2019 at Walters Funeral Home, Centerville, Texas with Ruben Amador, Jimmy Stevens and Jared Bolllman officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Sacred Selections (sacredselections.org), Pleasant Ridge Cemetery (Mary Watson, Treasurer, P.O. Box 975, Centerville, TX 75833) or the Leon County Livestock Show (P.O. Box 687, Centerville, TX 75833).

Pallbearers: Dennis Coffey, Keith Gardner, Tyson Henson, Brian Klutz, Jimmy Stevens, John Stout, Mark Taylor, Steve Torno

Honorary Pallbearers: Rick Baldwin, Tom Holmes, Bill Klutz, William Milstead, Herman Pruitt, Royce Shaw, Gayle Tittle, Jeff Vincent

Walters Funeral Home in Centerville, Texas is in charge of arrangements.