Sharon was the youngest of five children born to Art Hillman and his wife Winnie (née Cascadden), and the only one of the five to be born in a hospital, the Kirkland Lake and District Hospital. Winnie loved telling how on that day, December 9, 1943, the temperature was -45 degrees Fahrenheit. Sadly, at the age of 82, Sharon left us peacefully, here in Sudbury at St. Joseph’s Villa, late in the evening of a much warmer day, July 25, 2026. Sharon always hated being cold.
Sharon leaves behind her loving but heartbroken husband John, whom she married on his 19th birthday, October 14, 1963, almost 63 years ago. They had met four years earlier at the first school dance of the year, in September 1959, at KLCVI, the high school in Kirkland Lake. Sharon had asked her best friend Karen to talk John, who was Karen’s grade 11 classmate, into going to his first ever dance. Sharon would then take over and ask him to dance when the first “ladies’ tag” was announced. Needless to say, he did go; she swept him off his feet; he fell madly in love with her that night, and the rest is history.
Sharon and John were blessed with four children, each of whom inherited the family's love of athletics and went on to excel in sports. They were also blessed with thirteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Their children are: Michael (predeceased in 2006 at the age of 42), whose children are Mason (fiancée Laura Eddy) and Maraina; Dave and his wife Kim, whose children are Cameron (Kristin), Megan (predeceased in 2003 at the age of 9), and Kristin (partner James Donahue) — (Cameron and his wife being the proud parents of Duke and Sloane, the great-grandchildren); Brian and his wife Debra, whose children are Ryan (Lindsay), Redmond, and Rory; and Cheryl and her husband James Fabbro, whose children are Brendan (partner Shanda Halonen), William (partner Kendall Christie), Caden, Mikayla, and Jameson. John has always said, if Cheryl had been a boy, after we already had three boys, we might have ended up with a family of 10 or 11 boys, but Sharon finally got her little girl!
Sharon’s roots were actually a long way from Northern Ontario. Her parents had both grown up on farms in the Leamington area of southwestern Ontario. Art was a gifted baseball player, and his talent would eventually take the young family north. In those days, many of the mines in Kirkland Lake, Timmins, and Sudbury fielded their own baseball teams, and the calibre of play was remarkably high. Art was recruited to Kirkland Lake to play for one of those teams. And so, in the mid-1930s, in the midst of the Depression, Art and Winnie packed up their two young children, Shirley and Bud, climbed into their Model T Ford, and left the farms, sunshine, and relatively mild climate of southern Ontario and headed for Kirkland Lake and an entirely different way of life in the North. Over the next few years, three more children joined the Hillman family: Larry, Wayne, and, finally, Sharon, the youngest of the five.
Sharon’s parents and all four of her siblings have predeceased her. Her sister was Shirley Warchol (Chester), and her three brothers — all of whom became professional hockey players — were Floyd “Bud” Hillman (Barbara), Larry Hillman (Elizabeth), and Wayne Hillman. Sharon also leaves behind many, many nieces and nephews, members of the Hillman and Savage families who remained such an important part of her life.
Growing up in such an athletic family, it was probably inevitable that Sharon would develop a love of sports herself. She received her first pair of figure skates when she was only four or five years old and continued taking lessons until she entered high school. But figure skating wasn't the only kind of skating that appealed to her. At Queen Elizabeth Public School, Sharon was quite happy to trade her figure skates for hockey skates and join the shinny games on the school's outdoor rink after school and on weekends. With three older brothers at home who knew a thing or two about hockey, she undoubtedly picked up a few pointers along the way. Sharon was also on the school’s track and field and ski teams where she excelled.
When she reached high school, she gave up her figure skating lessons so she could take advantage of the many other sports available to her. She seemed to try just about everything, with basketball, volleyball and track and field becoming particular favourites. She was also a member of both the junior and senior cheerleading teams. Her athletic interests also extended well beyond school. Sharon played with the Kirkland Lake Kardinals softball team, which captured the All-Ontario Intermediate Softball Championship in 1958 — quite an accomplishment for a fourteen-year-old girl.
Sports and physical activity would remain an important part of Sharon's life long after her school days were over. As the children grew older, Sharon found more time to return to some of the activities she had always wanted to try. She took up distance running with John and enjoyed curling and bowling with some of her lady friends. Sharon was a stay-at-home Mom from 1964 to 1976 and was definitely in her element. However, in 1976, Sharon did realize that she needed to get out of the house more and found another use for those figure skating lessons she had begun as a little girl. She went to work for the City of Sudbury, travelling to a number of outdoor rinks throughout the city and giving free figure skating lessons to children. She loved the work and continued doing it for more than a decade.
Then, in 1987, Sharon traded skates and outdoor rinks for an entirely different working environment — the Sudbury Courthouse. As a Court Service Officer, she was responsible for the security of juries during jury trials and worked with various judges during judge-alone trials. The work could sometimes be stressful and carried considerable responsibility, but Sharon thoroughly enjoyed it. She remained at the courthouse until 2008, retiring when she turned 65.
While Sharon accomplished many things throughout her life, her greatest love was being a wife, a mother, and later a grandmother and great-grandmother. Her family was always her first priority and she always put everyone else’s needs before her own. Being the proud mother of her three boys and one daughter, nothing made her happier than watching each of them grow, succeed, and build families of their own.
As her family grew, so too did the warmth and activity within the Savage home on Latimer Crescent, which became much more than just a house—it was the gathering place. Sharon insisted that the kids’ friends were always welcome. The basement pool table could tell a thousand stories of laughter, friendly competition, and memories made over the years. Sharon had a remarkable way of making everyone feel at home, and that welcoming spirit defined the household through every stage of family life.
That sense of home was especially evident during the busy years of raising her children. During hockey season, the house was always bustling, and before games Sharon could often be found in the kitchen preparing her famous spaghetti and chicken dinners to make sure the boys never went to the rink on an empty stomach. At the same time, she was every bit as dedicated to Cheryl’s activities, spending countless hours volunteering with rhythmic gymnastics and cheering proudly from the sidelines at figure skating and track meets. She was the kind of mother who was always there—not because she felt she had to be, but because there was nowhere else she would rather have been.
As the children grew and the family continued to build lasting traditions, some of their most treasured memories were made on Manitoulin Island. Every trip began with packing the Chevrolet Caprice to the brim—with the kids, luggage, and whatever pets happened to be coming along for the adventure. Once there, life on the Island offered a slower pace, filled with time together, laughter, fresh air, and the animals Sharon loved so much. These included all of our dogs and cats, her horse Ruby and our goat Molly, all of whom became part of so many cherished family stories. Life on the Island also taught the family the value of hard work and helping one another. Days were often spent shovelling sand for the beach, hauling wheelbarrows, building the sauna, piling wood, moving rocks, and working side by side to make the property what it became.
Among those Island traditions, no visit ever seemed complete without one of Sharon’s homemade pans of apple crisp. It quickly became a favourite of our family and a number of neighbourhood kids who somehow seemed to always know when it was dessert time at the Savages’. Like so many things Sharon did, it wasn’t just the dessert that people remembered—it was the love she poured into making everyone feel cared for.
After Sharon and John retired to the Island full time, a big part of their day all year was feeding, watching, and taking photos of the huge variety of birds, squirrels, chipmunks etc. that came for meals at the Savage Cafe every day. In the winter they also provided feed for up to a dozen or more deer at a time in their front yard. But staying active remained important to Sharon throughout her life. Even when she and John were in their early seventies, Sharon managed to talk him into joining her for Tai Chi classes — something he discovered, much to his surprise, that he thoroughly enjoyed. They continued with it until Covid brought the classes to an end.
Unfortunately, during the Covid era, our Mom’s health began to decline and she became a resident of St. Joseph’s Villa in Sudbury, where she lived for just over three years. The first part of her time there was marked by the progression of dementia and Parkinson’s-like symptoms, and for approximately two years she was no longer able to fully recognize or recall many of the people and memories that had once been so central to her life. It was a difficult and heartbreaking time for us, her family, as we continued to visit, love, and support her through each stage of her illness.
However, a little over a year ago, the removal of one of her medications—one she had been taking for 27 years—was made by her physician. Following this adjustment, Mom experienced a slow but remarkable return of clarity and movement. In those early weeks of her reconnection with reality, we were able to see glimpses of the wife and mother that we had always known and loved. She eventually, last summer, came fully back to us, could carry on conversations with us, feed herself, and was even able to do physio and walk with the help of a walker. We are all so thankful to have had her back with us for this past wonderful year.
Throughout her time at St. Joseph’s Villa, we have been deeply grateful for the unbelievable care she received from all the PSWs, nurses, doctors, staff, and fellow residents. The PSWs in particular became such a constant and compassionate presence in her daily life, always ensuring she was comfortable, cared for, and treated with dignity. They knew her routines so well—right down to making sure that she had her long sleeves on so she could tuck her Kleenex tissues safely inside them, just the way she liked. Over time, they all became like family—not only to Mom, but to Dad and the rest of us in her family. The compassion, patience, dignity, and genuine love shown to her will never be forgotten, and we will always be thankful for the way she was cared for in her final years. Even as her health continued to decline, the care she received at St. Jo’s ensured that she was surrounded by love, dignity, and comfort.
We are also so grateful for the many moments of joy that we experienced within the Villa on many occasions. One of the most special was watching our Dad, John, play the piano for the residents and staff. Those moments brought light music, favourite old songs, and connections to the past into the home for many residents, and meant so much to Mom and all of us who were there to witness it. We also want to express our deep love for Dad—Mom’s Prince Charming—who was by her side faithfully through every stage of her journey. Their bond was one of enduring devotion, and in so many ways, their story was truly a love story. Dad remained with her to the very end, holding her hand through the most difficult moments, never wavering in his love and commitment to her.
Sharon’s kindness, compassion, generosity, good sense of humour right to the very end, and her unwavering love and devotion to her family will remain her greatest legacy. Respecting Sharon’s wishes, there will be no funeral service or visitation. Cremation has taken place, entrusted to Ranger’s Cremation and Burial Services Ltd. If you wish to make a donation in Sharon’s name, we might suggest donatingto St. Joseph’s Villa in Sudbury (click here) or The Cancer Centre at Health Sciences North in Sudbury (click here).