DeLloyd Hillmann, age 98, of Gibbon passed away Sunday, October 11, 2026 at Southview Living Center in Gibbon.

Funeral service will be 11 a.m. Thursday, October 15, 2026 at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Moltke Township. Pastor Karl Grant will officiate. Burial will follow in the St. Peter’s Lutheran Cemetery in Moltke Township.

Visitation will be from 9-11 a.m. Thursday, October 11, 2026 at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Moltke Township.

To leave an online condolence for the family, or to sign the guestbook, please visit: www.mvfh.org.

DeLloyd Floyd Hillmann, D.F., was born Feb 1, 1928 to Emma (Black) and Theordore Hillmann on the family farm near Hector, Minnesota. He joined his siblings, Elmer, LaVerna, and Edna. He attended Emanuel Lutheran School, Wellington, and graduated co-salutatorian from Buffalo Lake High School.

DeLloyd soon met a beautiful young woman, Fern Albrecht, of rural Fairfax, Minnesota. They were married on Sept 27, 1950, in New Ulm. On their wedding day, DeLloyd received a special gift from the US Government: his Army draft notice! On Feb 21, 1951, DeLloyd reported to duty and served in Washington, Maryland, and Nevada. While in Nevada, he was sent to Las Vegas as a construction welder to help build Camp Desert Rock where atomic bomb testing was conducted to help the military have a clearer picture of atomic warfare.

While DeLloyd was in the Army, Fern saved her egg money along with the military family pay he sent to her. When he returned home in 1953, he proudly purchased a 1948 John Deere tractor to work the farm. Together they continued building their “homeplace” in rural Gibbon, Minnesota, Moltke Township, farrowing sows, and raising pigs and cattle. Their family grew with the arrival of Jerry, Allan, Kay, and Rita. Eventually, DeLloyd began tiling his own land, which led to the establishment of Hillmann Tiling and Backhoe.

Farming and business were family endeavors, where hard work was expected and life lessons weren’t really talked about…he just lived them. DeLloyd showed his family to push through difficult conditions, take humble pride in a job well done, and appreciate each day as a blessing. As an entrepreneur and inventor, he was always figuring things out and took an interest in what others were doing. He enjoyed asking questions and valued talking with family and friends. With his hat tipped slightly to the side, he greeted family with his familiar, “Hey girl” and a warm smile. His quick wit, always ready with a story, and playful spirit helped him build friendships that lasted for decades. Always ready to help with a project and share his knowledge, he often needed reminding that it was time to stop for the day.

DeLloyd’s zest for life was raised to high heights when he earned his private pilots license and truly enjoyed the freedom of the open skies and surveying the land beneath him. With his feet planted firmly on the ground, he also served the community through the Gibbon School Board, St Peter’s Lutheran Church council, Gibbon Co-op Shipping Association and other local organizations.

The hard cold Minnesota winters made DeLloyd and Fern yearn for warmer temperatures. They traveled throughout the United States looking for just the right spot to call their winter home before settling in Alamo, Texas. They spent 40 years there making new friends, welcoming visitors and enjoying a busy social life dancing, playing cards, popping popcorn, and savoring time with family and friends. DeLloyd's love of music inspired him to teach himself how to play the concertina. With Fern on the piano or saxophone and DeLloyd on the concertina their home was filled with music, happy memories and tapping feet.

DeLloyd and Fern shared a love of old-time music and dancing with their children and thirteen grandchildren, teaching the next generation to polka and waltz in their living room and at dances in Minnesota and Texas. Those who watched them dance could see the joy they found in the music and, most of all, in each other. DeLloyd’s love for Fern was also expressed in the simplest gestures, like stopping during a day's work to pick lilacs or wildflowers for “his bride”.

At age 98, DeLloyd leaves behind a legacy of hard work, integrity, kindness, humor, devotion to family, and faith. His family is grateful for the Christian heritage he passed on and finds comfort in knowing he is now in the presence of our Savior, Jesus, reunited with his beloved wife, Fern, and his children, Allan and Kay who preceded him in death. The lessons DeLloyd lived and the faith he shared will continue through generations.