Kathryn Hilleshiem

Kathryn (Heberlein) Hilleshiem "Hillie"- May 9, 1951 to June 24, 2026

Well, folks, Hillie has officially clocked out and somewhere up there, she's already found the snack table, claimed the best seat for the Packers game and is hooting and hollering like nobody up there is listening.

Born May 9, 1951, and raised on a farm in Stitzer, Wisconsin, Kathryn came up the old-fashioned way: with a strong work ethic, a quick laugh, and a deep love of family. She graduated from Fennimore High School in 1969.

Then on May 3, 1975, she married the love of her life, Ronald Hilleshiem, at Willerup Methodist Church in Cambridge, a union that would last fifty-plus years and bring her two children she never stopped being proud of: Rhonda (Tim) Noordyk and Mat (Brooke) Hilleshiem.

She spent her entire career at St. Mary's Hospital in Madison, where she showed up, worked hard, and treated people right because that's just how farm girls from Stitzer do it. In her younger years, she played softball with her St. Mary's colleagues, holding down first base with the same steady reliability she brought to everything else.

But here's the thing about Hillie: she was fun. Capital F, italicized, underlined fun. The woman could dance. Holidays were her Super Bowl. Costumes? Yes. Games? Always. And don't even think about sitting down at a Euchre table with her unless you came to play. She loved cards, was wildly competitive, and loved to win. But even more than that, she loved to have fun. If there was a way to make a gathering more festive, Hillie found it, usually with something she scored at the Dollar Store, which she considered a sacred destination. The woman could turn $7 and a plastic bag into an entire themed evening. She'd light up for a photo every single time, cheer too loud for the Badgers and Packers, and hoot and holler at the TV like the players could hear her. (Maybe they could. Who's to say?)

She was patient, thoughtful, and kind. She was the kind of listener who made you feel heard. She found good in everything and everyone, and she had a laugh that made you want to tell her your best story just to hear it again. She didn't take herself too seriously, which is exactly why people loved being around her. She loved her family fiercely. She loved trips back to the family farm and finding ways to honor her humble roots. She loved a long car ride to nowhere in particular, an ice cream cone on a hot day, and a slot machine that was feeling generous.

In retirement, she leveled up. More family time. Crossword puzzles conquered. Wheel of Fortune watched religiously. Football season was treated like a sacred event.

In March 2025, Hillie was diagnosed with stage 4 lung and brain cancer. She met it the way she met everything else in life: with courage, with grace, with humor, and with a refusal to let the hard stuff steal her joy. She showed us all how to do the hardest thing with the softest heart.

She leaves behind her husband, Ron; her children, Rhonda (Tim) Noordyk and Mat (Brooke) Hilleshiem; and six grandchildren who were the absolute lights of her life: Jenna, Karissa, Ella, Emme, Jack, and Ian. Each of them carries a piece of her: her humor, her warmth, her stubborn optimism, or possibly her unreasonable enthusiasm for a bargain.

She also leaves behind the siblings and their spouses with whom she laughed the loudest and loved the longest—the people who knew her from the very beginning: her sister-in-law Fran Parks (preceded by Bob); her sister Marlene Nickel (preceded by Ben), her sister Diane Holloway (preceded by Dan), and her brother Roger and his wife Diane Heberlein. She rejoins those who went before her- Bob Parks, Ben Nickel, and Dan Holloway- no doubt already saving her a seat, dealing her in, and bracing themselves for how loud she's about to cheer. She also leaves behind many nieces and nephews, every one of whom got a front-row seat to the Hillie show and is better for it.

So today, do something Hillie would approve of. Wear something a little festive. Call somebody you love. Take the long way home. Spend a dollar at the Dollar Store. Cheer too loud at the game. Smile for the picture like your life depends on it.

She did. And what a life it was.

A Funeral Service will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 27, 2026, at Ryan Funeral Home, 2418 N. Sherman Ave, Madison, WI. Visitation will be held from 5:00 p.m. on Saturday until the time of the service. A light reception will be held onsite after the service.  

The family would like to extend special thanks to Agrace Hospice and Ryan Funeral Home for their care and support.