Hillman, Patricia
HILLMAN, Patricia H.
Mrs. Patricia H. Hillman, age 100, of Sandy Springs, Georgia, passed away after a brief illness on December 12, 2022 at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.
She was born on March 30, 1922 in Trenton, New Jersey, to Roberta Taylor Harper and Frank Williamson Harper and was the next to the youngest of seven children. During WWII, she graduated from Bouve College at Northeastern University majoring in Physical Education and worked during the summers in an aircraft factory. She married Warren C. (Joe) Hillman Jr., a Naval aviator, in 1944 and in the following years, had four children. She occasionally substituted as a PE teacher during several corporate transfers for her husband's career in the steel industry. During one of those moves, Pat picked up a tennis racket for the first time in her life. After moving to Georgia in the 1970s, she became quite serious about the sport and would play whenever she had the chance. One story that Joe often told was when he was about to be gone for the week he put a sock under a table to see if Pat noticed (she didn't). She simply said that she was busy playing tennis! She was consistently ranked between #1 and #5 in both singles and doubles in the 75-and-up category! In addition to tennis, she loved to play bridge and work crossword puzzles, both, she said, kept her brain sharp!
Pat was preceded in death by her husband, Joe; son, Warren (Ren) C. Hillman III; and daughter, Edith (Dee) A. Hillman. She is survived by her daughter, Patricia (Ricki) H. Smart of Morganton, Georgia; son, Mark W. Hillman of Dunwoody, Georgia; grandson, Jon W. Richmond of Jasper, Georgia; and twin granddaughters, Grayson L. Hillman and Charlotte H. Hillman of Dunwoody, Georgia; several nieces and nephews as well as many good friends.
When asked by Carol Niemi with the Sandy Springs Reporter newspaper who interviewed her during her 100th birthday party, what advice she would give others, she said, "Be nice to each other. Look forward to the next day. Read a lot. Play bridge. Just get along with people. Try to be a friend. Look up and be happy." Then she added, "Just do who you are."
