Betty Ellen Parker Hillard

March 15, 2015 Last Updated: March 15, 2015 12:01 PM Death Notice

Betty Ellen Parker Hillard, 91, of Matthews, N.C., formerly of Petrolia, passed away Friday at her home.

She was born on Oct. 12, 1923, in Phillipston, the daughter of the late David Conrad Irwin and Iola Ruth Reep Irwin.

Betty graduated from Karns City High School in 1941, and she was a member of the Fairview United Presbyterian Church.

During the war, she worked as a lab technician in Petrolia. She graduated from the Butler Beauty School in 1947 and for two years owned her own beauty shop in Fairview.

Betty's real passion, however, was exploring genealogy. She loved learning about her family and through her research discovered that her family descended from Mark Antony, the well-known politician from the Roman Empire who lived from 83 to 30 B.C. She was also able to prove that several of her ancestors served in the American Revolution, which allowed her to join the Butler Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

She retired to Ormond Beach, Fla., in 1995 and moved to Matthews, N.C., in 2008 to be with her daughter, Judith.

Aside from genealogy, Betty's favorite hobbies included reading, investing and watching the stock market.

She is survived by her daughters, Judith Ann Parker of Matthews, N.C., and Ruth Ellen Ramirez and her husband, Raymond, of Homestead, Fla.; her seven grandchildren, and her two great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her first husband, Edward J. Parker, who died on June 15, 1980; her second husband, Dr. Charles Hillard, who she married in 1981 and who died in 2008; her son, Bruce Edward Parker, who died in 1997; her brothers, Laird Irwin, John Irwin and David “Buster” Irwin, and her sister, Ruth Ann Geibel.

Hillard— The family of Betty Ellen Parker Hillard, who passed away Friday, Feb. 13, 2015, will receive friends from 10 a.m. until the time of funeral services at 11 a.m. Tuesday at theBauer-Hillis Funeral Home, 102 S. Argyle St., Petrolia, with the Rev. Harper Brady officiating. Burial will be in Bear Creek Cemetery, Petrolia.Contributions can be made in Betty's honor to the Fairview United Presbyterian Church, 109 Petrolia St., Petrolia, PA 16050.Arrangements are by the Bauer-Hillis Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Inc.To leave a condolence for Betty's family, visit www.bauerhillisfuneral.com.