Jacob Paul Hillis
Jacob Paul Hillis (Paul)
was born in Berthold, ND,
in 1931 to Mabel McIsaac.
When his mother died
shortly after he was born
he was adopted by the
doctor who delivered
him, Samuel and his wife
Catinka Hillis. An accom-
plished musician who
played many instruments,
Paul was interested in
everything around him
and spent most of his life
doing what most people
only dream about. He is
an alumnus of Berkeley
College of Music in Bos-
ton. He was playing the
circuit out of Miami and
was in Cuba shortly be-
fore Castro took over and
barely made it back before
they closed the ports. He
had a music studio where
he taught music and sold
instruments while playing
local clubs and dance
jobs. He later fell in love
with growing plants and
had commercial
greenhouses where he
raised cacti and succu-
lents. He made many trips
to Mexico gathering
plants and beginning a
lifelong love of the Span-
ish language. For a time
he had a Mexican restau-
rant in Gainesville where
he made all the food from
scratch. He also made
trips to the Andes and
South Africa. He and his
wife Gillian also spent
some summers in Spain
in an immersion language
school learning and
spending time absorbing
the Spanish culture. At
the age of 83, he had lost
most of his mobility and
took up jewelry making.
He made beautiful wire
jewelry for family and
friends.
Paul had four children
with his first wife and is
Preceded in death by: two
sons, Marc Hadley Hillis
and Brent Avery Hillis.
His eldest son, Jeffrey
Paul (Marge), gave him
four grandchildren, Jacob,
Samuel, Daniel, and Han-
nah. His daughter, Chris
Marie Takashima
(Russell), has one son,
John-Michael. Paul was
able to, late in life,find
some of his McIsaac
cousins in North Dakota,
and they gave him great
peace and a sense of con-
nection, as well as a
prized possession, a pic-
ture of his mother. They
are William (Bill) Murrey,
Minot, ND, and Mickey
Harmon, Erhard, MN. In
lieu of flowers please
donate to your local an-
imal shelter or humane
society.