Donald Hilyard

Donald Lee Hilyard, 90, of Cumberland, Iowa, passed away Monday, May 16, 2016, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska.

He was born September 21, 1925, on the family farm (now a 125 year old century farm) in Cass County, Iowa, the son of Ralph and Ida Mae (Harper) Hilyard. He attended school in Cumberland and played football while in school. He graduated from Cumberland High School with the class of 1945. On December 23, 1950, he was united in marriage to Marilyn Paulsen on the Paulsen family farm in Anita, Iowa.

Donald was a farmer through and through. He spent his whole life in Cass County. He was a farmer of agriculture as well as livestock. He was a cattleman and liked going to cattle sales in the Midwest. Don did many custom harvests and was the first in the area to own a self-propelled combine. Over the years, he did a great deal of custom farm work for other area farmers. Don also enjoyed mechanics and built a hot-rod Simpson tractor and entered area tractor pulls. He was a great story teller and in his free time went fishing, deer hunting and valued spending time with his grandkids.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Ralph and Ida Mae Hilyard; his parents-in-law, Henry and Lowene Paulsen; sister, Pearl Penton; sisters-in-law, Marian (Albert) Johnston and Verda Paulsen; and his brothers-in-law, Lloyd Paulsen, Daryl Paulsen and Ronald Avey.

Donald is survived by his wife, Marilyn Hilyard of Cumberland, IA; his children, Donald Hilyard, Jr of Winiagen, MO, Sheryl (Larry) McCullough of Des Moines, IA, Kathy (Mark) Bemus, Wheat Ridge, CO, Duane (Louise) Hilyard of Cumberland, IA, and Sara (Kenneth) Hebard of Fontanelle, IA; 9 grandchildren and 3 step-grandchildren; 15 great grandchildren and 4 step-great grandchildren; 6 brothers and sisters-in-law; many other relatives and friends.
Visitation with family will be from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., on Friday, May 20, 2016, at Hockenberry Family Care in Atlantic, Iowa.

Memorial services will be at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, May 21, 2016, also at Hockenberry Family Care in Atlantic, Iowa.

A private family interment of ashes will take place at a later time.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to the family for designation at a later date.