Mary Henson Hilliard

Today we celebrate the homegoing of a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt and friend.

Mary was born in March 1933 to Claude and Neomah Henson in El Paso, Texas. Her parents met and married after Neomah’s first husband died, so little Mary was born into a family with four older siblings who doted on her and considered her their own personal dress-up doll.

During the Great Depression, Mary’s father was a traveling baby photographer who journeyed from town to town, setting up temporary shop in the local movie theater where he would hold “most beautiful baby in town” contests, and of course, the judging was done using newly taken photographs! Mary spent those early years in the back seat of a car as she accompanied her parents throughout Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.

When Mary was old enough to attend school, she lived with various families who would take her to school as well as church. Mary loved both school and church and became a Christian during this period of her life. She was self-directed and loved to read books. As the Depression ended, her father found work in various cities as a welder, so the family’s home life settled down in Brownwood for a time, then Baytown. Mary attended Robert E. Lee High School in Baytown where she excelled in science and was awarded the Outstanding Science Girl Student in Texas for a paper she wrote entitled “Plankton in Goose Creek.” In 1950, she went on to attend the University of Texas as a microbiology major.

Mary loved UT and all things related to campus life. She attended the Baptist Student Union’s intramurals as a spectator, where she met the love of her life, Hilton Hilliard. When Hilton asked her if she would like to participate in one of the games, her response to him was, “I don’t do ball.” Whatever it was she said, Hilton was totally smitten, and their romance blossomed during her sophomore year at UT. They married at University Baptist Church at the end of the year as Hilton graduated and Mary intended to continue her studies. Instead, the Korean conflict was underway, and Hilton was convinced that he was soon to be drafted into military service, so they moved into Mary’s parents’ photography studio and Hilton became a photographer for a short time.

When Hilton answered the draft call, he discovered that because Mary was expecting their first child, he was eligible for a deferment. Their first home was a small garage apartment, where the cars parked below were visible through the floorboards.

They were soon blessed with their first child, Kathleen, followed the next year by brother Russell. Mark came a couple years later, followed quickly by Rebecca and Andrew. They moved to the Westbury area, where they were part of the South Main Baptist church plant of the new Westbury Baptist Church, with their family making up most of the nursery department of the new church.

For the next two decades, Mary was wife, mother, chef, teacher, gardener, seamstress, chauffeur, musician, nurse, helper, and supporter for her family. She loved being a mother and stayed in harmony with babies and little children throughout her life. Her passion was gardening, and she loved all kinds of music, especially played at high volume. Mary was a voracious reader throughout her lifetime. She was fascinated with the Egyptian and Mayan pyramids and never missed a documentary or exhibition about those periods in history.

As her children grew, she returned to college, earning her Insurance License, and then joined her husband’s firm, Hilton Hilliard Insurance Designs. In 1986, Hilton sold his insurance agency and began to focus more on safety education and compliance, and then invented the Safety Boot Guardrail System. Mary was CEO and President of the company and under her (and later son Andrew’s) leadership, Safety Boots (and related guardrail system components) are sold and used across the country and in several foreign countries.

During the pandemic, Hilton and Mary moved in with their eldest daughter, Kathy, and son-in-law for several years. Hilton passed away at 91 years of age in January 2021 from health conditions exacerbated by COVID-19. Recently, Mary moved into an assisted living center in west Houston. She succumbed to a long-term lung disease.

Hilton and Mary were long-time members of Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston.

Mary is predeceased by her husband of 68 years, James Hilton Hilliard, as well as her parents and siblings. Mary is survived by daughter Kathy Bevers and her husband, Gary; son Dr. Russell Hilliard, his wife Mona and their son, Kent Hilton; son Mark Hilliard, his wife, Cyndi, and daughters Mary Katie Canava (and her husband Jonithon and son Mark Tyler), and Addie Grace Jaus (and her husband Dalton and daughter Olivia Kaye). Daughter Rebecca Hilliard, her son Nathan Hansen (and his wife Holly and daughter Harper Kay), daughter Natalie Barker (and her daughter Mary Lynn); son Andrew Hilliard, his wife Sandra and their son Evan James (and his fiancée Erin Steeby); numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and other family members, friends, and associates.