Aileen Hiltner, age 98, of Martinsburg passed away peacefully on April 7, 2025, at Brookdale Senior Living Center in Mount Vernon. She was born July 29, 1926, to Cloyce and Blanche (McKee) Hays in Morgan Township, Knox County Ohio.
As a lifelong area resident, she was born in the era when there were four, one room schoolhouses in the area. She went to Ewart School for five years and remained in the community her entire life. She graduated from Utica High School in Licking County's class of 1944.
She and her beloved husband, Ronald, were married on June 19, 1954. A 70th wedding anniversary celebration occurred in 2024 in their honor where many community members and family members attended.
Her love and commitment to the nursing profession was a life-long passion. Aileen was a part of the class of 1947 Newark Hospital’s School of Nursing. As an RN on the surgical nursing staff, she worked at Newark Hospital and Mercy Hospital in Mount Vernon for eight years before accepting the school nurse position at North Fork School District.
For 46 years, she worked for Utica Schools/The North Fork School District as the first and only school nurse before retiring in 2001. She established the nursing program for Utica in 1955 and cared for three generations of families in the area. The program started with just bandaging knees and taking temperatures and progressed under her leadership to vision checks, hearing checks, fighting cavities and even the pre-kindergarten screening that became the model for other districts.
At Utica, she was known for her endless energy, love of kids, and the scarlet-and- gray car she drove in honor of The Ohio State University Buckeyes. She established a nursing scholarship in 2000 in her name to be granted to a North Fork graduating student annually to highlight and reward those that choose to pursue the nursing profession.
She is a member of the North Fork Local School Hall of Honors selected in 2003 and is an Honorary Member of the Utica Athletic Hall of Fame elected in 2010.
She was an active member of Morgan Grange, No. 829, and at the 150th anniversary of Morgan Grange in 2024, Aileen was recognized for her 85 years of membership. Aileen and Ron were named "Granger of the Year" by the Ohio State Grange in 2019.
She was a member of Owl Creek Baptist Church for over 70 years where she was involved in a variety of church activities throughout the years.
She is preceded in death by her parents and her siblings, Hobart Hays and Betty Daniels. She is survived by her husband, Ronald, and her children, Jan (Jon) Loomis of Sarasota, Florida, and Jeff Hiltner of Martinsburg; grandson Trevor Hiltner of Tallahassee, Florida; and many nieces and nephews and extended family members.
Aileen’s family would like to say a big "Thank You" to the staff at Brookdale Retirement Center for their care of Aileen as well as the Hospice of Central Ohio.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Owl Creek Baptist Church, 4044 Owl Creek Road, Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050 or Bladensburg Fire Department, P.O. Box 46, Bladensburg, Ohio 43005. (In memory of Aileen.)
Calling hours will be Thursday from 2- 4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at Brucker-Baker Funeral Home, 34 N. Main St., Utica, Ohio. Funeral Service will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 13, 2025, at Owl Creek Baptist Church, 4044 Owl Creek Rd., Mount Vernon, Ohio.
To sign an online guestbook, please visit: https://www.law-bakerfuneralhome.com/.
