Anthony Grove Hillerman (1925 - 2008)

Born 27 May 1925 in Sacred Heart, Pottawatomie, Oklahoma, United States

Ancestors

Died 26 Oct 2008 at age 83 in Albuquerque, Bernalillo, New Mexico, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Donna Lancaster [send private message]

Biography

Tony Hillerman is Notable.

Tony Hillerman was an American author of detective novels and non-fiction works, best known for his Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels. Several of his works have been adapted as theatrical and television movies.

Anthony Grove Hillerman was born May 27, 1925, in Sacred Heart, Oklahoma. His parents were August Hillerman, born in Missouri to German-born parents, and Lucy Grove, whose parents were English. They were farmers who also ran a small store. He had a sister, Margaret, and a brother, Bernard "Barney".^[1][2]

PFC Tony Hillerman served in the United States Army in World War II
Service started:
Unit(s): 103rd Infantry Division, United States Army
Service ended:

In 1943, he interrupted his education at the University of Oklahoma to join the Army.^[3] He lugged his mortar ashore at D-Day with the 103rd Infantry Division and was severely wounded in battle at Alsace, France. He returned from Europe with a Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, temporary blindness and two shattered legs that never stopped causing him pain.

He returned to the university for his degree. He married Marie Unzer on 16 August 1948.^[4] Together, they raised six children, five of them adopted.

As a young man, he farmed, drove a truck, toiled as an oil field roughneck and worked as a reporter and editor for the Borger News-Herald in Borger, Texas; the Morning Press-Constitution in Lawton, Okla.; United Press International in Oklahoma City; and the Santa Fe New Mexican, where he rose to executive editor. He quit in 1962 to earn a master's degree from the University of New Mexico, where he later taught journalism and eventually became chairman of the journalism department. In 1993, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame.

Hillerman was still teaching when he wrote his first novel, "Blessing Way." A story that always made him chuckle: His first agent advised him that if he wanted to get published, he would have to "get rid of that Indian stuff."

Although Hillerman was best-known for the Navajo series, he wrote more than 30 books, including a novel for young people; the memoir, "Seldom Disappointed"; and books on the history and natural beauty of his beloved Southwest.

Occasionally, he was accused of exploiting his knowledge of Navajo culture for personal gain, but in 1987, the Navajo Tribal Council honored him with its Special Friend of the Dineh award. He took greater pride in that, he often said, than in the many awards bestowed by his peers, including the Golden Spur Award from Western Writers of America and the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America, which elected him its president.

Tony Hillerman died of pulmonary failure on 26 October 2008 in Albuquerque.^[5] He was 83 years old and was survived by his wife and their six children. A daughter, Anne Hillerman, said her father had survived two heart attacks and operations for prostate and bladder cancer. He was buried in Santa Fe National Cemetery.^[6]

Grave inscription:

PFC US ARMY WORLD WAR II

SILVER STAR BSM PH

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XC48-J48 : accessed 30 August 2020), Anthony G Hillerman in household of August A Hillerman, Avoca, Pottawatomie, Oklahoma, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 4, sheet 10B, line 90, family 195, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1928; FHL microfilm 2,341,662.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VBKX-W5H : 17 May 2020), Anthony G Hillerman in household of August A Hillerman, Avoca Township, Pottawatomie, Oklahoma, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 63-2, sheet 10B, line 53, family 152, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 3327.
3. ↑ "United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8BM-TH3 : 5 December 2014), Anthony G Hillerman, enlisted 02 Aug 1943, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States; citing "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938-1946," database, The National Archives: Access to Archival Databases (AAD) (http://aad.archives.gov : National Archives and Records Administration, 2002); NARA NAID 1263923, National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
4. ↑ "Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995." Database with images. FamilySearch. "Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q29M-HNJR : 23 March 2020), Anthony G Hillerman and Marie Unzier, 16 Aug 1948; citing Oklahoma, various county courthouses, Oklahoma; FHL microfilm.
5. ↑ "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQMF-2WG : 23 August 2020), Anthony G Hillerman, 26 Oct 2008; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
6. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #30905532, database and images (accessed 30 August 2020), memorial page for Tony Hillerman (27 May 1925–26 Oct 2008), citing Santa Fe National Cemetery, Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave.

See Also:

• Wikipedia: Tony HIllerman

• Wikidata: Item Q181920

• Find A Grave: Memorial #30905532

• Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir, by Tony Hillerman, Copyright 2001by Tony Hillerman, The hardcover edition of this book was published in 2001 by HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022, ISBN 0-06-019445-6. An Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, Copyright 2001 First Perennial Edition published 2002, ISBN 0-06-050586-9

• http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/books/28hillerman.html