Sandy Lou Hillman

1937 - 2025

October 28, 1937 - October 8, 2025

Sandy, our beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away on October 8, 2025, just shy of her 88th birthday. She spent her final years bravely facing Alzheimer's disease, a journey she met with quiet strength and grace.

Raised in Lombard, Illinois, Sandy enjoyed English horseback riding, academic achievement, library time, community and being honored as a Lilac Princess during Lombard's Lilacia Park Festival.

Sandy taught modeling and sang in a trio that appeared on the Arthur Godfrey Show, showcasing her poise and talent on a national stage. She was a member of the local Garden Club, an excellent seamstress, on a bowling league, enjoyed doing the "Twist" and a savvy Bridge player.

Later, Sandy moved to Bozeman where she helped draw plans to build her beautiful home in the Four Corners area while working retail downtown. Her artistic spirit blossomed. She designed and made ski hats on her knitting machine for a local ski shop and beautiful sweaters and robes for a boutique while also exploring her passion for wildlife photography, gardening, and various forms of painting. Sandy was known for creating life-like porcelain dolls and sewing each outfit by hand. She especially loved violets, a flower that matched her gentle spirit and deep love for nature. Whether knitting, embroidering, sewing, floral arranging, decorating and crafting, Sandy put care and beauty into everything she touched.

Throughout her life she cherished her fur and feathered companions along with the love of viewing surrounding wildlife through her camera lenses taking amazing photos.

A talented artist, Sandy was admired not only for her outer beauty but for her kindness, creativity, and warm heart. Sandy doted upon, and was always very proud of her family. She was deeply loved by her family, daughter Cindy (Doug) Kosty of Oregon; son, Mike Thompson of Bozeman; her grandchildren, Erika (Brian) Wismann of California; Derek (Andrea) Kosty of Oregon and her great grandchildren Carter and Cora Wismann. Her legacy lives on through them in every flower garden, every piece of art, and every act of love.

Sandy passed away due to complications after a fall in an assisted living facility, closing a life rich in beauty, artistic creativity, and bunches of love. She will be remembered and strongly missed by her family and by all who had the joy of knowing her.

Because there is no service, in honor of Sandy's legacy, consider support of others facing Alzheimer's with a memorial contribution to The Alzheimer's Foundation of America at www.alzfdn.org.