Joanne Brown Hillyard, age 87 years, of Southern Pines, passed away on Friday, February 14, 2025, at Fox Hollow in Pinehurst.
A native Washingtonian, she was the daughter of Fredrick Brown and Mary Margaret Brown. She was a civil servant and retired after working as an Administrative Assistant for the US Army and at The National Institutes of Health. Joanne took to sports at a young age, as a basketball player she earned the nickname “Hook Shot Brown”. After moving to Raleigh in 2006, she won several medals in tennis with the Senior Olympics. She also enjoyed watching sports, especially the Tennis Channel and her beloved Washington Redskins. Joanne’s greatest attributes were her sense of tradition, and her love of family.
Joanne was preceded in death by her parents, grandparents, Thomas H. and Rita B. Reavis, who lovingly raised Joanne, and Adele Foschia, lifelong friend and adopted sister.
She is survived by her two sons, Robert “Bob” Hillyard, and his wife, Ellen, of Southern Pines, NC and Greg Hillyard of Prior Lake, MN, daughter, Cynthia Hillyard of Southern Pines, NC; four grandsons, Blake Hillyard, Henry Hillyard, Thomas Hillyard, Peter Hillyard; great-grandson, Oliver Hillyard; great-granddaughter, Evelyn Hillyard; goddaughter, Mary Beth Townley and her husband, Steven, and their children, Nick Townley and Corinne Nield, and Adele’s son, Johnny Foschia.
Powell Funeral Home is serving the Hillyard family.
Condolences can be made at: PinesFunerals.com.
