Margaret "Peg" Hileman

1919 - 2007

Margaret "Peg" Hileman died suddenly on Nov. 5, 2007. Peg was born Feb. 15, 1919, in Lakewood, Ohio, the first of three children to John Hileman and Josephine McConnell Hileman.

Peg's mother was a librarian, who took her on frequent trips to the public library and instilled in her a lifelong interest in reading. After graduation from high school, Peg took a job in the Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Library, where she worked for seven years. When Peg was 23, her mother died after a long illness, and Peg put her career on hold to help raise her youngest brother, David.

When a relative left her a small inheritance, Peg was able to earn her bachelor's degree at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1948 and her master's degree at the University of Denver in 1949. After graduation, she worked for one year with the Montana State Library, before taking the job of director of the Bozeman Public Library in 1950.

She stayed in that position for 33 years, overseeing a five-fold increase in circulation and six-fold increase in budget. When the library outgrew its original Carnegie building, Peg oversaw the design and construction of a new, modern library that opened in 1981. Peg retired in 1983, but continued to work as a volunteer in the Bozeman Public Library and in public school libraries for more than 20 years. In 2006 the library that Peg helped to construct was replaced by a new facility, where the welcome desk inside the front door is engraved "Honoring Peg Hileman."

Peg loved the western wilderness and spent many days hiking in the mountains surrounding Bozeman with a group of friends. She spent her spare time reading and spoiling her cat. Peg was also a long-time member of First Presbyterian Church of Bozeman, where she was a reliable volunteer when things needed to be done.

In January 2007, Peg moved to Auburn, Ala., to be near her brother, Wally and her nephew, Douglas and his family. In the short time that they had together, they shared family dinners and outings to concerts and plays and a joint birthday party in February.

Peg was active until the end of her life. She continued to "hike" the halls of her senior citizens' residence for exercise. In the last month of her life, she joined Westminster Presbyterian Church of Tuskegee and participated in a Halloween party at her senior citizens' residence, where she won a prize for her cat costume.

Peg will be remembered for her walking and hiking, her dry sense of humor and her ability to laugh at herself, her simple, practical approach to life, her love of books and libraries, and her love of nature and animals.

Her passing came six months after the passing of her brother, Wally Hileman.

Peg is survived by her brother, David Hileman; nephews, Douglas Hileman and William Hileman; nieces, Margaret Hileman, Barbara Duvall and Katherine Hileman; five grandnephews and grandnieces; and by Minnow, her plump feline companion.

Memorial services were held at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Tuskegee, Ala., on Nov. 7.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to the Bozeman Public Library Foundation, P.O. Box 6242, Bozeman 59771; or to the Heart of the Valley Humane Society, P.O. Box 11390, Bozeman 59719.