Sydney Derby HILLYER

Sydney Derby HILLYER

HILLYER, B.A., A.S.A, Sydney Derby December 24, 1923 – January 29, 2021 Born in Cochabamba, Bolivia, to Herbert Sydney and Lena Gertrude (Derby) Hillyer. Oldest of 3 boys. Loving husband to Betty Jean (Mitchell) Hillyer; cherished Dad to Nancy Mercier and Brenda Clark (Bryce).

Caring Grandpa to Michael (Elizabeth), Steven (Sarah), Benjamin (Jennifer) Radcliffe, Madeleine Clark and predeceased by Hannah Clark. Great-grandpa to 5. Loving brother to Keith Hillyer (Bev) and predeceased by Jack Hillyer (June). Syd moved to Canada in 1937 to attend Feller Institute in Grand Ligne, Quebec, near his mother’s hometown of Clarenceville, Quebec (Eastern Townships).

He spent summers with the Stanton family at 16 Island Lake, Quebec, and with his grandparents on their farm in Clarenceville. In 1939, Syd was in the Boy Scout parade that lined the route honouring the visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to Montreal. Syd attended Oakwood Collegiate in Toronto for his final year of high school, when his parents returned to Canada. He worked on one of the Great Lakes cruise ships, the Noronic, as a waiter in the summers. He graduated from McMaster University with a BA in Math in 1948. Syd met and married the love of his life, Betty Jean Mitchell in February 1952 at Castlefield Baptist Church.

They were happily married for almost 69 years. He was also a longtime member of Blythwood Road Baptist Church, participating in all aspects of the church for many years. Syd worked for Crown Life Insurance Co. from 1948 to 1982 as an Actuary and Officer of the company in Group Actuarial. He retired from Constellation Insurance Company in 1989. Syd was an avid bridge player (duplicate), coin collector, Canadian glass and goblet collector and was unbeatable in Chinese Checkers. He loved to travel, was an avid reader and was fluent in Spanish from his childhood in South America. Betty and Syd moved to Agincourt/Scarborough in 1967 and enjoyed many memories there.

In 1987, Betty and Syd bought a lovely cottage on Dickey Lake, near Coe Hill, Ontario, where they continued to enjoy many summers with their family. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Ogden Funeral Home. www.ogdenfuneralhome.com In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Hospital for Sick Children (Oncology Department), Blythwood Road Baptist Church Memorial Fund, or the charity of your choice.