Carol Hillman
She was born Jan. 3, 1937, at Urbana, the daughter of Harold and Erna Prahl Koehn of Mansfield. Carol married Delmar Hillman on June 30, 1957.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Monday, April 28, at Freese Funeral Home, 302 E. Grand Ave., St. Joseph, with the Rev. Dave Birch officiating. Burial will be in Blueridge Cemetery, Mansfield. Visitation will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.
Carol is survived by her husband, Delmar, as well as her brother Kenneth (Nancy) Koehn of Normal. She is also survived by several aunts and uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews and many other family members.
She was preceded in death by her parents.
Carol was a 1954 graduate of Mansfield High School and received her B.S. and M.S. degrees at the University of Illinois.
She taught music in Mansfield Elementary and High School, and then moved to St. Joseph and taught 31 years before retiring. Following her retirement, Carol taught part time in the Tolono schools and also one year at St. Thomas in Philo.
She began playing for church at the age of 12 at Centerville Methodist Church near White Heath, and later at the Mansfield Methodist Church.
After she and Delmar moved to St. Joseph, she played at the St. Joseph Church of Christ for 31 years, and more recently at the Oakwood Christian Church for 13 years.
While teaching in St. Joseph, her students presented many school concerts, and performed for several groups in St. Joseph. They also performed for Penny's Bridal Christmas Show at Market Place Mall, and for many years led singing groups and handbell choirs at the mall. Her students also performed at Six Flags in St. Louis.
She and her husband both volunteered in Boy Scouts as Merit Badge Counselors, with Little League, as well as track and basketball games.
For many years she played flute in Parkland Community Summer Band. After retiring from teaching in St. Joseph, she taught in the College for Kids programs at both Parkland and Danville Area Community College and she taught eight years in the Elderhostel Senior and Intergenerational programs at the University of Illinois.
She also helped the State Office of Education for several years as a representative and team member doing Five-Year College reviews.
Carol belonged to the UI student chapter and the Urbana-Champaign Alumni Chapter of the Mu Phi Epsilon music sorority, serving as secretary, vice president and president, and chapter delegate to two national conventions.
She was a member of the Illinois Education Association (IEA), National Education Association (NEA), Music Educator's National Conference (MENC), and she received a National Music Educator's award in New Orleans in 1990 at the National Convention.
She was also listed in Who's Who in Teachers of America in 1994 as well as in the Educational Communities Inc., and in Who's Who Among America's Teachers.
Mrs. Hillman was selected by the village of St. Joseph as their 1986 Citizen of the Year and was a state finalist for Illinois Teacher of the Year two years in a row.
After retiring, Carol continued singing in the choir and playing in the Community Band which was an organization that played summer concerts in various nearby towns for the enjoyment of the communities.
Carol loved people of all ages, and fervently loved teaching and keeping in touch with her former students, as well as other friends and family, and participating in church activities.
In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, memorials may be directed to the Oakwood Christian Church (P.O. Box 236 Oakwood, IL 61704), or an organization of the donor's choice.
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