FRED HILLEY
POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. - It is with great sadness we announce the final flight of retired U.S. Air Force SMSgt. Fred A. Hilley. He passed peacefully in his sleep at his home on Lost Mountain, Georgia, on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018. He was 85.
Fred was born in May 1933 in Anderson, South Carolina, to Willie J. Hilley and Lizzie Mae White. His brother Willie J. (Red) Hilley predeceased him.
Fred Hilley most recently served as the senior advisor to Rocket Kat Strategy. Fred retired from the Air Force at Shaw Air Force Base in 1973 as a senior master sergeant, management engineering superintendent. He served for more than 21 years, with assignments in Germany, Louisiana, South Carolina, Georgia, Illinois, the Philippines, Washington D.C. and Maryland. He enlisted in the Air Force with his entire graduating class from the Anderson Boys High School during the Korean conflict. He was the recipient of numerous military awards and decorations.
After the Air Force, he joined industry as an industrial and mechanical engineering manager for Square D Corporation in Columbia. He later returned to government service as special program supervisor for the Sumter office of the South Carolina Employment Commission.
Upon his retirement from the state of South Carolina, he became a small-business man specializing in real property management. Fred joined the Board of Directors of SAFE Federal Credit Union in 1998 and served continuously until his death. During his tenure, the SAFE Federal Credit Union grew to more than 120,000 members and more than $1 billion in assets. SAFE is the largest Midlands-based credit union with 16 branches in South Carolina.
Fred was a co-founder of the Easy Street program serving senior citizens and was a champion of programs supporting young airmen and their families.
SMSgt. Hilley served as a prior commander of the Dalzell-Shaw South Carolina American Legion Post 175 and was a current member of the Powder Springs, Georgia, Post 294. He was a past member of the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce.
Fred is survived by his wife of 65 years, Hillma P. Hilley, RN, of Powder Springs, Georgia. He is also survived by his older sister, Willie Mae Kellam of Anderson. In addition, Fred is survived by son retired U.S. Air Force Col. Dennis F. Hilley and his wife, retired U.S. Air Force Col. Christine M. Wasdin, and daughter Karen M. Mathis and her husband Charles Mathis of Powder Springs, Georgia.
He had three grandchildren, Cole Mathis (Kimberly), Jace Hilley and Chloe Hilley, and two great-grandchildren, Gracelyn Hilley and Scarlet Mathis.
A native of South Carolina, Fred is descended from a long line of dedicated military professionals who have served in uniform since the Revolutionary War. He is a direct descendant of the Virginia Patriot, Thomas Hilley, a Revolutionary militiaman from Amherst County, Virginia. A devout Christian, he was a member of Burnt Hickory Baptist Church.
A funeral service will be held today at 4 p.m. at West Cobb Funeral Home and Crematory in Marietta, Georgia. A private burial with full military honors will be at the Georgia National Cemetery at a later date. An online guest book is at www.westcobbfuneralhome.com.