Nearing 100 years old, alumna continues deep community support

Rescue and flight from the trappings of the heavy snowfall successful the precocious Sierra Nevada mountains had been grueling for Leanna Donner. At conscionable 12 years old, she had witnessed and endured specified horrors it would instrumentality her implicit 80 years to speech astir it. Now, connected the cusp of returning to safety, she sat and ate her 2nd to past tiny ration of “jerky.”

After walking each time successful the trail-breaking steps of the radical person done heavy snowfall successful the biting acold portion starving connected the borderline of death, she looked astatine her past finger-sized portion of nutrient and gave successful to her overwhelming hunger – eating her last ration earlier going to bed.

The adjacent morning, arsenic everyone other savored their morsels earlier the day’s hike, Leanna Donner regretted that decision. Her 14-year-old sister Elitha took pity connected her.

“Her older sister was…really bully to her. Everybody was sitting astir eating their meal piece, and she felt truly atrocious for her. She broke her portion and gave fractional to my great-grandmother [Leanna],” said Patricia Heiskell Hillman.

Hillman, a 96-year-old Fresno State alumna and supporter, reflects connected her household history. She said some Leanna and Elitha had capable spot to yet marque their mode into the information of the Sacramento Valley with respective others.

The communicative of the Donner Party is taught arsenic portion of the fourth-grade program successful California. Every year, Hillman visits classrooms to archer the communicative of her great-grandmother, Leanna Donner App, providing a idiosyncratic transportation to a tragic but important portion of California’s history.

“For 4th graders to perceive that successful her ain words, I think, has a truly profound effect connected them, and it does connected maine each clip I archer it,” said Hillman successful a 2014 interview.

Valley roots

Hillman’s grandfather, Jefferson Davis Heiskell, moved to Tulare successful 1886 to acquisition a atom warehouse and commencement a livestock provender business. That business, J.D. Heiskell and Company, Inc., has grown implicit the years into a thriving planetary company.

Born successful Tulare, Hillman grew up astir the concern her begetter and aunt inherited. She attended Tulare Union High School, and, pursuing successful the footsteps of her parent and sister, she enrolled astatine Fresno State conscionable arsenic World War II was coming to an end. A flute player, she joined the Bulldog Marching Band. 

“There were not precise galore men due to the fact that they were successful the service. I usually played snare drum oregon flute, and I played bass drum successful the marching set for a mates of years.”

In summation to the marching band, Hillman played flute successful the Fresno State Symphony.

Hillman graduated summa cum laude successful 1949 with a treble large successful English code and euphony successful the College of Arts and Humanities. 

Hillman taught astatine Roosevelt High School successful Fresno for 4 years. While surviving successful Fresno, she met Dale Hillman connected a unsighted date, and they joined a abbreviated clip later. A fewer years older than Pat, Dale Hillman came from a walnut farming household successful Tulare and had served successful the Coast Guard during World War II.

Pat and Dale settled successful Tulare. While Dale farmed, Pat became a kindergarten teacher. They had 4 children. While raising them, Pat worked arsenic a substitute teacher. She aboriginal taught successful a programme for talented children for respective years. Additionally, she served connected the committee of directors of the household business, a presumption she inactive holds. After her father’s death, Dale became CEO of the institution successful 1972.

A bequest of support

Throughout her life, Pat Hillman has been profoundly progressive successful her assemblage successful Tulare and beyond. She continued her passionateness for euphony arsenic a founding committee subordinate and instrumentalist successful the Sequoia Symphony Orchestra, adjacent performing arsenic a soloist. She was progressive successful the Tulare Ag Center and saw it go the International Agri-Center and expo it is today. She is simply a founding subordinate of the Tulare County Historical Society and is profoundly progressive with her section First Congregational Church. She was besides a Tulare City School Board trustee for 26 years and sat connected the Tulare County Board of Education for 25 years.

Shortly aft moving backmost to Tulare, Fresno State President Arnold E. Joyal invited her to articulation the President’s Advisory Board. That work was the catalyst to a beingness of work and fiscal enactment astatine Fresno State. 

From gifts to the Ag One Foundation and different areas successful the Jordan College of Agriculture to gifts to the Bulldog Marching Band and scholarships successful the Music Department, her wide scope of generosity represents the extent of her engagement successful her life’s interests successful agriculture, euphony and education. A lifelong Bulldogs Football fan, she has besides supported athletics done the Bulldog Foundation.

While serving connected the Library Leadership Board she saw the needs and supported respective areas of the library. In 2005, she and her sister Eleanor were recognized arsenic Library donors of the Year aft backing a survey country successful grant of their mother. She received the archetypal Top Dog Award done the Fresno State Library successful 2006. 

“I deliberation philanthropy is 1 of the astir important things you tin do,” said Hillman. “My gramps gave to truthful galore farmers. He gave the wealth to get the effect to works their crops. He acceptable the modular for the remainder of us.”

With a household past of great-great grandparents who starved to decease establishing a caller way to California and a great-grandmother who narrowly survived to the gramps who founded a institution that would assistance provender the world, it seems fitting that Hillman besides supports efforts to alleviate nutrient insecurity astatine Fresno State done the Bulldog Pantry.

“Food is specified an important portion of our existence.” 

Hillman said she feels blessed to beryllium capable to assistance radical and her community, but she besides feels that giving backmost is an integral portion of surviving a fulfilling life.

“I americium truthful fortunate that I person lived this long,” said Hillman. “I get up successful the greeting and cognize that I’m going to effort and get done the time doing bully for radical and enjoying beingness astatine the aforesaid time. What could beryllium better?”