I went to the visitation last night and will go to my Uncle Ernest's funeral this afternoon.
When I graduated from H.S. in the Azores, Portugal I came back to the states to attend college at UT-Arlington in the Fall. I came back and spent two months (during the summer before classes started) with this Aunt and Uncle and it was a very memorable time in my life. I tried to help with room and board but they would never take anything from me while I lived with them. I will miss my Uncle Ernest, may he rest in peace. . .
My cousin Ronnie showed me the write up in the Denton Record-Chronicle for his Dad. Nice write up, I thought. (Reference in this to Don Hilliard is incorrect. Should be Ron Hilliard).
Hilliard, county commissioner for 12 years, dies at age 89
Denton Record-Chronicle ^ | April 23, 2003 | Denton Record Chronicle Staff
Posted on 04/23/2003 9:42 PM CDT by MeeknMing
Hilliard, county commissioner for 12 years, dies at age 89
04/23/2003
People thought former Denton County Commissioner Ernest F. Hilliard was crazy when he paved the way for a four-lane Interstate 35 in the 1950s, his son said.
Mr. Hilliard, who died Tuesday at his home in Flower Mound at the age of 89, helped bring the interstate, Loop 288, Grapevine Lake, Lewisville Lake and numerous farm roads to the county, said his son, Don Hilliard.
"He always said Denton County was the first county in the state of Texas that got its right of way for 35," Don Hilliard said. "He was so proud of that, even though it was odd in the 1950s to build a road with a 400-foot right of way. Of course now it’s crowded. Back then we went from a little two-lane road to a 400-foot wide thing."
Ernest Hilliard served as a commissioner from Jan. 1, 1951, to Jan. 1, 1963. He worked with three county judges during that time. In 2001, he was honored by Denton County for being the oldest living county commissioner.
Mr. Hilliard loved his community, his son said. In addition to his tenure as a county commissioner, he also worked for Denton County as a heavy-equipment operator.
Mr. Hilliard lived on the Flower Mound farm that his father bought in 1929 and that he inherited in 1936. The farm has an airstrip called Hilliard Air Field, which was built in the 1960s. At age 55, he received his private pilot’s license.
Don Hilliard said his father’s greatest pleasures in recent years were spending time with his family and taking care of his son’s cows.
Ernest Hilliard was an associate member of First Baptist Church of Flower Mound.
He was a third-generation Denton County resident. He was born in Flower Mound to B.F. "Pete" and Emma Morgan Hilliard.
On April 29, 1933, he married Johnnie Bays in Marietta, Okla.
Survivors include his wife; one daughter, J.R. Martin of Lewisville; one son, Don Hilliard of Flower Mound; one sister, Lou Johnson of Grapevine; five grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by one grandson, Christopher Hilliard, in 1984; one great-great-granddaughter, Sydney Paige Ballard, in 2001; and one brother, Bill Hilliard, in 1980.
A service will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, April 24, at First Baptist Church of Flower Mound. The Rev. David Williams will officiate. Interment will follow in Shiloh Cemetery in Flower Mound.
Visitation will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, at Mulkey-Mason Funeral Home in Lewisville.
Memorials may be made to Ann’s Haven VNA Hospice, 216 W. Mulberry St., Denton, TX 76201-6012.
Online at: http://www.dentonrc.com/obituaries/stories/DRC_Hilliard__county.12957c678.html