Hilda Gillikin

Hilda Gillikin, 86, of Morehead City (formerly of Williamsburg, Virginia) went to be with her Lord and Savior on Sunday, November 5, 2023, at the Crystal Coast Hospice House.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 12, 2023, at Noe-Brooks Funeral Home. The family will receive friends following the service.

The service will be live streamed on the Noe-Books Funeral Home webpage.

Her family affectionately called her “Aunt Hilda." She was known for her love of the Lord, strong-willed personality, determined work ethic, and most importantly unconditional love for her family.

Aunt Hilda, the youngest of ten children, was born on January 25, 1937, at the home of her parents, the late Myrtle Day and Curtis Gillikin of Otway. From a very young age, she learned the meaning of respect and love for family and hard work. She often reminisced about her childhood days; helping her mother with daily chores, planting sweet potatoes, collecting eggs, and cleaning collards. A strong work ethic and determination were the way of life.

Her love of local seafood began with memories of times with her brothers returning home and trips to the “shore of Otway” to find oysters for a stew. In her early summers, she enjoyed dancing, traveling to Harkers Island to visit her sister, and day-long trips to Cedar Island and South River to spend time with her grandmother, aunts, cousins, and friends. As school years began, she developed a love for reading, problem-solving, and math with a long walk to school before there were buses. As a member of the Smyrna Class of ‘55, she kept up with classmates and relished talking about times gone by. Aunt Hilda never missed an opportunity to reflect on the love of family and the strong Christian example set by her mother. She never passed on the chance to tell you, “I love you Sweetheart” as she spoke these words to each of us in her last days.

On September 15, 1956, she married the love of her life, Rodney Lee Gillikin, also a fellow Otway native, at her childhood home. After a short time living on Camp Lejeune, with their daughter Cindy Lee, their family moved to Williamsburg, Virginia. Aunt Hilda continued to become a part of her new community with work and as a member of Grace Baptist Church. She taught in the children’s department as a Sunday school teacher and a nursery rocker. You could always find Aunt Hilda with a smile on her face in the presence of children, especially a baby.

After a full career with the Naval Weapons Station, Aunt Hilda retired to continue spending her time participating in the life of the church. She enjoyed Busch Gardens, Carteret County visits, a good book, Downton Abbey, and Friday lunches with “the group” at the Golden Corral where they discussed the latest novel along with current events.

In May of this year, Aunt Hilda returned to Carteret County to be closer to her family. Even though the past several months have been challenging both emotionally and physically, she remained faithful in her love for the Lord and his goodness.

The family would like to extend our sincere appreciation and gratitude to the staff of The Crystal Coast Hospice House as well as her personal caregivers over the past few months, Ms. Karen Nelson, Ms. Patsy Salter, and Ms. Kimberly Willis. A debt of gratitude to her best friends in Williamsburg for years of love and care, Ms. Gerry Coffman and Ms. Diane Abbott.

Aunt Hilda is preceded in death by her husband, their daughter, her parents, and her siblings Geneva, Elbert, Otis, Carrie, Herman, Hervie, Curtis, Charles, and Esther as well as nieces-nephews, Bobby Lawrence, Vernita Gillikin Lupton, Patricia Ann Moore, Elberta, John Anthony, Edward Harvey, Herman Curtis and Sandra Lynn Gillikin.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Crystal Coast Hospice House or Grace Baptist Church, 1013 Penniman Road, Williamsburg, VA 23185.

Condolences and life tributes may be sent to the family at www.noebrooks.net.

Arrangements by Noe-Brooks Funeral Home, Morehead City, NC.