Dr. Rovena Lee Hillsman

Dr. Rovena Lee Hillsman, 94, died peacefully October 23, 2024, at Bradley Medical Center, Cleveland, Tennessee. She was born 0ctober 15, 1930, in Hathaway, Tennessee. Her family later moved to Ridgely, Tennessee, where she graduated from Ridgely High School in 1948 and began her teaching career. 

 Dr. Hillsman completed a bachelor’s degree at Memphis State College, earned a master’s degree from UT Knoxville, and then earned her Ph.D. from Arizona State University in Tempe. She taught at Ridgely High School, Sikeston High School (Missouri), Friendsville Academy (Tennessee), Pensacola Junior College (Florida), and retired as a Professor Emeritus from Sacramento State University, Sacramento, California, in 1995. 

 She also served as a captain in the Civil Air Patrol while teaching in Missouri. She was an avid reader and book collector, was active in the Pensacola Jazz Society, The Daughters of the Confederacy, The Daughters of the American Revolution, and various other professional organizations. 

 She was preceded in death by her parents Frank and Iona Lee of Ridgely, and by her sister, Norma Roberts, of Signal Mountain, Tennessee. 

 She leaves 2 daughters, Lee Middleton of Tellico Plains, Tennessee, and Joan Vondras, of Chesterfield, Missouri, and 1 son, David Frank Hillsman, of Cleveland, Tennessee; 2 grandsons, Clayton (Shannon) and Austin (Lindsey) Vondras, and 2 great-granddaughters, Eleanor and Evelyn Vondras. 

 Funeral services will be at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, October 27, 2024, at Mt. Moriah Cemetery in Troy, TN officiated by Reverend Robert Craig. 

 Friends are asked to gather at the cemetery at 1:45 p.m. on Sunday. 

 Funeral services are under the direction of Curry Funeral Home. We are privileged and honored to serve the Hillsman family. You may share your condolences and your memories with the family at www.curryfuneral.com.