HILLMAN, George Ira

Camp Verde Bugle, Camp Verde, Arizona Thursday, November 9, 2017 George Ira Hillman Jr., 84, of Cottonwood passed in the early hours of Nov. 5th, 2017. Born of the George Ira Hillman and Ida Hemingway (nee Gwinn), he had one sister, Shirley Hillman. George was talented painter with an eye for intricate details, a spiritual seeker and a great lover of music, particularly Jazz. He was raised Catholic, but also studied and practiced tenets of Eastern religions, even going so far as to spend some time in an ashram. He is a veteran of the U.S. Marines and spent much of his working life as an Air Traffic Controller at Teterboro Airport in NJ. He retired to Arizona with his then wife, Maryanne Green, to start the Cottonwood Montessori School. While his life brought him experiences and wisdom, George is now free from the challenges of sight loss and Parkinson’s which plagued him in his later years. George is survived by his only son, George Ira Hillman III, of his first wife Gladys Hillman-Jones (nee Brooks) who passed in 1998. A Memorial Gathering will take place on Saturday, November 11th at 11am at Bueler Cottonwood Funeral Home at 255 S. 6th St., Cottonwood, AZ 86326. Information provided by survivors.