Douglas Hillman

Douglas Russell Hillman, 82, passed away peacefully on January 12, 2021, at the St. George Intermountain Hospital. He was born August 1, 1939 in Egin, Idaho to Pearl Powell Hillman and Howard Mayhew Hillman. He had one sister, Arlene. He married Shirley Ann Schwendiman on June 23, 1961, in the Idaho Falls Temple.

He was a rancher while he grew up in the family home, primarily ranching cows. He and his mother were best buddies. He was devoted, and loved to garden with her. Her death at age 64 caused him great pain for many years. He loved to drive cars very fast, and keep them immaculate. He would wash the car in the garage to keep the water from freezing. He loved to snow ski and was a good skier. He got into all kinds of trouble with his good friends in high school. He didn’t love bringing in the cows due to bitter cold weather, and hard aspects related to that. He was in the National Guard for 5 years, receiving an honorable discharge.

He married Shirley after they had dated off and mostly on for about 6 years. She was 14 and he was 16 when they started to fall in love. He went to Idaho State College and earned an Electronic Associates degree. His first job after graduating school was at the Nevada Test Site, EG&G. After that, he went to sell hardware for Southern Hardware in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was a top salesman, and good with people. He and Shirley had 2 daughters, Darci and Raico, while they lived in Las Vegas during those first years. Then they moved to Logandale, Nevada, and dad worked hard and built the family home there. A couple of years later, he was able to get a job as a technician at Nevada Power Plant, in Moapa Valley, Nevada, and he stayed at that job for 13 years. There were dangerous aspects to his job, he was good at it, and made good friends there. They had a 3rd daughter, Rhinda, soon after moving to Logandale. He taught his daughters to ride horses and waterski, along with so many other things. Doug loved boating, and would, of course, wax his boat after we got home from waterskiing. It was the best to watch him beach start when he slalom skied. And he used to slalom with one of his daughters on the ski as well, deep water starting. He loved Chevy trucks, and loved his stepsides.

He was a man of many talents. Whatever came along, he did it well. He took good care of his family, and did whatever was needed to make sure that he provided for them. He would commute to his job as needed, spending 1-2 hours on the road each way. In 1985, they moved to St. George, Utah. He built their home in Bloomington Hills there.
In his later years, he sold real estate, cable and had other miscellaneous business endeavors. He heart issues caused them to work on their health, and he and Shirley were avid gym goers for 25 years. They walked Foremaster Hill every day for many years, and became known for that. Doug would always ask whoever he ran into “What’s new” and listen to their life story. He loved to make new friends, and hear about someone’s life experiences. He genuinely wanted to listen to them. He gave so much service during his life, held many callings, and loved his Heavenly Father and Savior so much.

They are amazing grandparents and show up to grandkids’ games and interests and never missed an opportunity to support them. One of my favorite memories will always be my dad and my mom sitting right next to each other in one of their trucks. They always looked like two teenagers in love. And when they would walk somewhere, they were always holding hands. We are so grateful to have had such positive role models in the way that they lived their life, and loved each other. Dad would have gladly given his life for any of his girls, he loved us all fiercely. He and mom were married for almost 60 years. He was devoted to his sweetheart, Shirley, and will be waiting for her to join him. We are grateful that he is back home with his family, and that he gets a rest from fighting the heart issues that he has dealt with for 30+ years. He is such a good man, husband and father, we are grateful that he is ours forever.

He is survived by his wife, Shirley Ann and his three daughters: Darci Burgess, Raico Martin (son-in-law David Lawrence Martin) and Rhinda Crockett. Grandchildren: Jessica Malin, Keaton, Tahia and Rayder Martin, and Nathan Michael Crockett.

Due to current COVID Restrictions, a brief graveside service will be held at 1pm on Friday, January 22, 2021 at the St. George Cemetery.