Charles Clifton Hillyer Jr.

BELOVED HUSBAND, FATHER, BROTHER

Charles C. Hillyer Jr. passed away March 22 in his home in Beech Grove, Nelson County Virginia, surrounded by family members, following a debilitating illness. Charles is survived by his wife Andrea S. Hillyer and their son Duncan Raglan Hillyer of Beech Grove, and sons Charles Clifton Hillyer 3rd and William Yates Hillyer (from his previous marriage to Mary Yates Slacum) and four grandchildren: Alexander and Maximilian Hillyer of Weiden, Germany, and Hannah and Emma Hillyer of Chesapeake Beach, MD. Charles is also survived by five siblings: Emma Gray Hillyer Newsom of Jacksonville, FL; Mary Royster Hurtado of Las Vegas, NV; Hilah Hillyer Autrey of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL; Kennard Avery Hillyer of Atlanta, GA; and Stuart Hillyer Pedlow of Jacksonville, FL., as well as multiple nieces and nephews scattered across the country. He is also survived by his two loyal yellow Labrador retrievers “Atilla” and “Aramis.”

Charles retired from the U.S. State Department in 2019 following ten years of service overseas, posted three times in Pakistan, and once each in Barbados, Qatar, and Cyprus. In Pakistan Charles’ three tours included serving as political assistant in the political-military unit and as an assistant general services officer supporting embassy operations. During his tour in Barbados, Charles served as the director and deputy director of the Office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, responsible for administering law enforcement program assistance in seven countries in the Eastern Caribbean. In Qatar and Cyprus, Charles again worked in general services in support of embassy operations.

Charles shined during his Caribbean tour, which was one of his favorite tours. As a teambuilding and morale-enhancement initiative in Barbados, Charles recruited embassy colleagues and arranged for two embassy teams to join in the historic Round Barbados Sailing race in 2012, which was featured in the Department of State magazine, a tradition the embassy has maintained to this date. Under his tutelage that initial year, the embassy placed first in one class and second overall in a separate class.

Charles was born in Charlottesville, Virginia to Charles Clifton Hillyer of Fernandina Beach, FL and Emma Gray White Hillyer of Charlottesville; at that time his father was in medical school at the University of Virginia and his parents were residing at Flordan, the home of his maternal grandparents William Henry White and Mary Stamps Royster White. Charles’ grandfather William Henry White was at that time the dean of the University of Virginia Law School. Charles and his parents moved to Jacksonville FL in 1945, where he was raised in Ortega.

Charles graduated from Sewanee Military Academy in Tennessee, and joined the U.S. Air Force in 1964, receiving an honorable discharge after four years in Washington DC assigned to the Pentagon and White House as a member of the then-Presidential Honor Guard. On leaving the Air Force, Charles worked for United Airlines in Washington, DC. During his marriage to Mary Yates (Slacum) Charles worked in law enforcement and court administration in Dorchester County, MD, as a deputy sheriff and as the clerk of court, and attended night school and graduated from the University of Baltimore with a degree in maritime history.

Later Charles returned to Florida to join his extended family members and continued to work in law enforcement, including as the director of the Florida Keys Marine Institute and an instructor at the Jacksonville Marine Institute. After his second marriage to Andrea Smith, Charles worked for the Florida Attorney General as the chief investigator, handling antitrust and fraud cases statewide. Later Charles was appointed as a traffic court hearing officer (similar to a civil magistrate) for the District of Columbia, while Andrea was working for the US Department of Justice in Washington. After serving on the traffic bench in Washington, Charles heartily embraced an unexpected opportunity to move overseas when it was presented; he served as a consultant to the police commissioner of a Pacific Island government and then as the Commissioner of Legislative Investigations. Duncan Hillyer was born in Hawaii during this time.

He was a proud Eagle Scout, and loved sailing, diving, archaeology, history, travelling the world, and researching genealogy. Charles was especially proud of his three sons; Charles 3rd retired from the U.S. Army as a Chief Warrant Officer 4 after 24 years active service including five combat deployments; William retired from the U.S. Coast Guard as a Chief Warrant Officer 3 also with 24 years of active service in homeland and maritime security, with both still employed in civilian positions, in Weiden, Germany and Washington DC respectively. His youngest son Duncan is a recent graduate of George Mason University in Fairfax VA, with a degree in criminal justice and intelligence analysis.

We miss him terribly but know that is he is free from pain and watching over us all with love. At Charles’ written direction, a celebration of his life will be held on the family property in Beech Grove VA at a future date, and will involve traditional aspects of celtic lore including a “Scottish wake.”