Finley Lee Hilliard

A Mass of Christian burial for Mr. Finley Lee Hilliard, 78, will be held Monday, March 1 at 2 p.m. in St. John Bosco Catholic Church in Westlake with Deacon Reed officiating. Burial will be at Prien Memorial Park Cemetery under the direction of J.E. Hixson Funeral Home in Lake Charles, La directly following the mass. Visitation is Sunday, Feb. 28 at Hixson Funeral Home in Lake Charles at 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. with a Rosary at 5:30 p.m.

Finley Lee Hilliard passed away at 12:44 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021 with his loving children by his side in Houston, Texas. He will be missed dearly.

He was a native of Crowley, La. and was later a resident of Westlake, La. He attended Crowley High School and received his Accounting degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, doing post-graduate studies at the University of Houston.

He married the love of his life Kathleen “Cookie” Hilliard on November 27, 1964. They raised three children together.

He was a loving grandfather, husband, father, and brother. He lived life by his own rules and with an almost constant spontaneity, and he loved to laugh. He was a member of St. John Bosco Church and loved Jesus Christ dearly.

Finley coached the Dixie Youth Astros baseball team in Westlake, leading them to their first championship win. Finley was still known to some as “Coach.” He was an avid fisherman and hunter. Finley’s life was almost too complex to put into words, as he was a man who lived many stories and had a joke for every occasion.

Survivors include two sons, Eric T. Hilliard and wife, Vicki, and Jude C. Hilliard and wife Kristine; one daughter Kelli R. Maddox and husband Chris; two siblings, Donald Hilliard, and Dolores Dugan; and nine grandchildren Kathleen, Benjamin, Nicholas, Emma Grace, Sam, Warren, Gavin, Trevor, and Olivia. Pallbearers will include Benjamin Hilliard, Nicholas Hilliard, Craig Dugan, Trevor Hilliard, Tracey Bichon and Daniel “Chuck” Semenchuk.

He was preceded in death by his wife Kathleen “Cookie” Hilliard, son Walter, and his parents Francis Harold and Dora Hilliard of Crowley, La.

The family says a special thank you to Neal Waxali from Houston Methodist Hospital for his care and friendship through the years.

Words of comfort may be shared at www.hixsonfuneralhomes.com for the Hilliard family.