[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 58 (Wednesday, April 9, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2321-S2322]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 REMEMBERING ERNEST B. HILLENMEYER, JR.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to and 
lament the passing of a man of great faith from my home State, the 
Commonwealth of Kentucky. Mr. Ernest B. Hillenmeyer, Jr., devoted his 
life to serving others. He passed away last Thursday at the age of 92.
  Ernest, or ``Ernie'' as he was affectionately known by friends and 
family, was born on a farm in Lexington, KY, on February 26, 1922. 
Ernie's formative years occurred when our country was trapped in the 
depths of the Great Depression. It was during this time that he learned 
the value of a good education, of family and community, and of faith in 
God. Through good times and bad, Ernie carried these ideals with him 
for the rest of his life.
  Ernie's daughter, Katy Hillenmeyer, has said that ``we'd all have to 
live to be 200 to accomplish what he did in his 92 years.'' This is 
hardly an understatement. After graduating from the U.S. Merchant 
Marine Academy, Ernie served his country for 10 years in the U.S. Naval 
Reserve. In 1985, he was ordained as a deacon and served his parish at 
St. Patrick Church in Maysville and St. James Church in Brooksville. 
Ernie was heavily involved in establishing the Meadowview Regional 
Hospital and the Hospice of Hope, both in Maysville, KY. He also 
chaired the Hayswood Foundation for 10 years, served as a director of 
the Maysville-Mason County Area Chamber of Commerce, and was the first 
lay chair of the board of trustees at Thomas Moore College. Those are 
only a few of Ernie's many accomplishments from a lifetime of service 
to others.
  Ernie is survived by his wife, Mary Agnes Farrell Hillenmeyer, his 
sister, Mary Hillenmeyer Fiore, 6 children and 11 grandchildren. Said 
his cousin, Robert F. Houlihan, Jr., ``He's loved and respected. And he 
was totally unafraid to die. You can't live a bad life and be unafraid 
of death.'' Although he may have been unafraid, Ernie will undoubtedly 
be missed by those who knew and loved him. I ask that my Senate 
colleagues join me in remembrance of the life of Ernest B. Hillenmeyer, 
Jr.
  Mr. President, Ernie's obituary was recently published in the Ledger 
Independent. I ask unanimous consent that it be printed in full in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

              [From The Ledger Independent, Apr. 3, 2014]

               Hillenmeyer Remembered for Life of Service

       Maysville.--During his 92 years, Ernest B. Hillenmeyer Jr. 
     lived by the motto his father instilled during his boyhood on 
     their Lexington farm: ``Be honest, and be of service to your 
     community.''
       Hillenmeyer embodied that creed through the many decades 
     and facets of his life, each guided by love of God, family 
     and his community.
       Hillenmeyer, former president of Parker Tobacco Company and 
     a leader in the Catholic Church and civic affairs, died April 
     3, 2014, at the age of 92, at Maysville Nursing and 
     Rehabilitation Center following a long illness.
       He raised seven children in Maysville, where he lived for 
     the past 68 years, and is survived by his wife of more than 
     52 years, Mary Agnes Farrell Hillenmeyer.
       The World War II veteran helped establish Meadowview 
     Regional Medical Center in Maysville and Hospice of Hope, 
     which provides end-of-life care and through which, as its 
     first chaplain, he ministered to patients. In 1985, he was 
     ordained a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church as part of the 
     Diocese of Covington's first class of men to enter the 
     permanent diaconate and served his parish at St. Patrick 
     Church, Maysville, along with St. James Church in 
     Brooksville, where he was pastoral associate from 1998 to 
     2002. Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, where 
     Hillenmeyer was the first layman to chair the board of 
     trustees, awarded him an honorary doctorate in May 2013 for 
     his lifetime of leadership and volunteerism.
       ``Deacon Ernie Hillenmeyer was a gentleman and a man of 
     integrity,'' said Sister Justina Franxman, OSB, his friend 
     and spiritual director for a number of years. ``He loved God, 
     his family and the Church. He was committed to his ministry 
     and saw Jesus in the people to whom he ministered. Ernie 
     loved life to the full.''
       ``Ernie'' Hillenmeyer was born Feb. 26, 1922, in Lexington, 
     to Earnest B. Hillenmeyer Sr. and Mathilde Scott Hillenmeyer 
     and grew up on his father's farm. His passion for gardening 
     and agriculture dates to his youth tending peach and potato 
     crops with his dad, himself the son and grandson of 
     nurserymen.
       He attended St. Paul's School in Lexington and later 
     graduated from Campion Jesuit High School in Prairie du 
     Chien, Wis.
       He graduated from the United States Merchant Marine Academy 
     in Kings Point, N.Y., holding a commission from 1942 to 1952 
     as an officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve, from which he was 
     discharged as a lieutenant.
       He spent three and a half years during World War II as a 
     deck officer aboard liberty ships in the Merchant Marine, 
     sailing with the North Atlantic and Pacific fleets.
       During the war, he met fellow Kentuckian Ellen Cochrane 
     Parker, a Maysville native whom he married in April 1945.
       His father-in-law, S. Alex Parker Sr. hired Hillenmeyer 
     into the family's tobacco business in 1946 and the couple 
     settled in Maysville, where their four children, Zoe, 
     Theresa, Ernie and Cece, were born.
       Following his first wife's death in 1960, Hillenmeyer 
     married Mary Agnes Farrell of Ludlow, to whom he was 
     introduced by his childhood friend, the late Msgr. John F. 
     Murphy.
       Married in October 1961, the couple had three more 
     children, Ellen, Katy and Paul.
       He frequently traveled abroad for business and hosted 
     international guests in the creek-side house he built in 
     Huntington Park, one of two contiguous subdivisions he helped 
     to develop in Aberdeen, Ohio.
       Whether sailing houseboats, pitching horseshoes, playing 
     bridge or crosswords, betting horses at Keeneland or cheering 
     on the University of Kentucky Wildcats, Hillenmeyer enjoyed 
     recreating with his family and friends, and delighted in 
     competition.
       In 1987, Hillenmeyer was a representative attending various 
     Masses when Pope John Paul II visited and met with deacons 
     for a conference, in Detroit, Mich.
       In all his years teaching card games to his kids and 
     grandkids, he never threw a hand. He took pride, too, in his 
     vegetable and flower gardens, producing homegrown tomatoes 
     and asparagus into his 90s.
       Hillenmeyer began his long association with Thomas More 
     College when in the mid-1950s he was invited to become a 
     member of the Board of Lay Overseers, to which he was 
     selected chairman in 1960. This Board recommended the 
     college's move from downtown Covington to Crestview Hills and 
     the construction there of a new campus.
       Along with education, Hillenmeyer worked to advance 
     ecumenism, health care and economic and human development.
       As a member of the Limestone Ministerial Association, he 
     led ministers and others to locally observe an annual week of 
     prayer for Christian unity, now in its 42nd year.
       He chaired a fund-raising drive to build a new hospital to 
     replace Maysville's outdated Hayswood Hospital. For 10 years, 
     he chaired the Hayswood Foundation, launching its grant 
     program which donated funds to support St. Patrick School, 
     the YMCA, The Boys and Girls Club and other projects in 
     surrounding communities.
       A founding member of the Council for Burley Tobacco, 
     Hillenmeyer testified before Congress on behalf of tobacco 
     trade associations, and formerly presided over the Burley 
     Tobacco Dealers Association.
       He served two terms as council member and vice mayor of 
     Aberdeen; was local district chairman for the Boy Scouts of 
     America; president of the Maysville Country Club; served as a 
     director of the local Chamber of Commerce; formerly presided 
     over Appalachian Industries in Vanceburg, promoting 
     employment and housing; and was a lifetime member of the UK 
     Alumni Association.
       During retirement, he and his wife, Mary, routinely 
     attended daily Mass, and prayer and scriptural reflection, 
     and continued to nurture their deep bonds of affection and 
     eagerness to share their faith with others.
       ``Ernie is a pillar--gentle and firm at the same time,'' 
     cousin Robert F. Houlihan Jr., of Lexington said. ``He's 
     loved and respected. And he was totally unafraid to die. You 
     can't live a bad life and be unafraid of death.''
       He is survived by his wife, Mary Farrell Hillenmeyer; 
     youngest sister, Mary Hillenmeyer Fiore of Kansas City 
     Missouri; six children, 11 grandchildren, beloved in-laws and 
     many other relatives who were dear to him.
       Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m., 
     Monday, April 7, at St. Patrick Church, in Maysville.

[[Page S2322]]

       Visitation is 4 to 8 p.m., April 6, with Vigil Prayers at 
     7:30 p.m. at the church.
       Burial will be in St. Patrick Cemetery.
       Following the committal rite at St. Patrick Cemetery, 
     friends and family are invited to gather for food and 
     fellowship at the Limestone Center.
       In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the 
     John J. Brannen Foundation, in care of St. Patrick School, 
     318 Limestone Street, Maysville, Ky. 41056, or St. Patrick 
     Church, 111 East Third Street, Maysville, Ky. 41056.
       Woodhead Funeral Home, Falmouth, is serving the family.

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