Enid Levida Hileman

On December 10, 1937 Enid Levida Hileman was born in Bunker Hill Illinois. She was the 8th child of 10 born to Ernest and Ellen Allen. When she was seven years old a tornado demolished her home and most of Bunker Hill. This tornado was the topic of many conversations throughout her life. She attended Southern Illinois University where she met and married Philip Campbell Hogan. They had 5 children; Shaun, Amy, Alan, Angela and Colleen. During the 1960’s they moved to Wyoming; first to Riverton, then to Casper. In 1973 Philip and she divorced.

She worked at Kelly Walsh high school as a home economic teacher. She loved teaching. Levida was never one to sit still. She was always challenging herself. She loved to scour the Wyoming prairies for Indian artifacts and teepee rings. She participated on archeology digs, and loved to make crafts. She also became an artist, and painted watercolor paintings.

She loved taking her children camping, and exploring Wyoming. In 1977 she answered an ad in the Mother Earth News magazine to rent a sheep wagon during the summer. That was the start of a wonderful friendship with Colonel William Rogers, who owned the property, by Laramie Peak. For 40 years she spent many days at the sheep wagon, enjoying nature, hiking, gathering rocks and landscaping.

In 1987 she married the love of her life, Brock Ernest Hileman. They were never far from each other. They supported each other as Levida involved Brock in numerous adventures. He was always game to go camping or exploring. Their love only grew stronger throughout the years.

When Levida retired she joined the Oregon California Trails Association. She learned about Independence Rock and the inscriptions. She discovered the last time the inscriptions were cataloged was in the 1930’s. She decided to search the rock for the inscriptions, and researched their names looking for any information she could find. Her hobby turned into an obsession as she visited several state archives, and read numerous history books looking for information related to the names she discovered. She put all of her research into a book; In Paint and Tar and Stone. At one point she was considered the foremost expert on the Oregon California Trail in Wyoming. She gave many presentations. On July 4th she and Brock would dress in pioneer clothing and talk to visitors at Independence Rock. One of her favorite expeditions was guiding a school of blind children from Kansas on Independence Rock and talking about its history. She also flew in a plane where she could clearly see the trail swales that still marked the land after a hundred and fifty years.

She and Brock lived in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico for several years. They explored New Mexico and fell in love with the area. She immersed herself in the history of the Southwest. They moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming where she spent her final years. On October 7, 2025 she passed away peacefully in her sleep at Davis Hospice. She is survived by her husband Brock (his three children, Mike, Lorri, and Mark), her 5 children Shaun (Young), Amy, Alan (Chen Jing), Angela (RJ), and Colleen. She also has grandchildren, Chris, Ryan, Jessica, Gabrielle, Elisabeth, Joshua, and Rachael. She has great grandchildren, Alyssa and Christian. She has 2 sisters, Lee and Joice, and 2 brothers Jack and Art. She also has numerous nieces and nephews.

Levida loved her family, and her children were the world to her. She instilled in them the love of nature, adventure and the simple things in life. She taught them that nothing is gained without hard work.