Donald Hillbrant

Donald Lowell Hillbrant, 86, died in an auto accident Tuesday, December 1, 2015, northwest of Iola, Kansas. He was born in Iola, Kansas, the son of John and Edna (Heath) Hillbrant. During his days in high school, he worked for Mr. Roy and Nora Sleeper. He enjoyed working in the furniture business and Mortuary. Working at Sleepers, he learned the joy of giving and so the growing continued. Donald befriended many people during his life's travels. When his parents moved to a farm west of Iola, he became educated about growing and raising cattle. But the heavy work of haying damaged his back, causing him to re-direct his life. He attended college in Springfield, Missouri where he received a BA degree from Evangel University and then a Masters from Drury College there. He worked on his PhD in Education at KU. He taught 35 years at the General Douglas MacArthur Elementary School in Leavenworth, Kansas. Donald became involved with Latin America missions. And made a number of trips to help out those countries. Flower and trees were blessed by Donald's care. And he shared quite often plants that he grew. Donald was preceded in death by a nephew Miles Kessinger and his sister Doris. He is survived by a multitude of cousins. A visitation will be at the Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Chapel in Iola on Sunday, December 6, 2015 between 2pm - 4pm. Services will be at the First Presbyterian Church in Iola on Monday, December 7, 2015 at 12:30 pm. Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery in Iola. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the College of the Ozarks and may be left at the funeral home. To sign the guestbook online or leave a condolence, go to www.iolafuneral.com .