Connie Jean (Horns) Gillilan

Connie Jean (Horns) Gillilan, (of Hardy, NE) 68, daughter of Arthur and Helen (Hiskey) Horns, was born on October 8, 1951, in Nebraska City and died on September 2, 2020 at the Brodstone Memorial Nuckolls County Hospital in Superior, Nebraska.

Connie Grew up on a farm southwest of Syracuse and attended a one-room country school south of Unadilla until 1960, and Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca until 1968. 

She was baptized and confirmed in the Syracuse Luther Memorial Church.

In the summer of 1968, Connie, her mother and her sister moved to Lincoln. She graduated from Lincoln Northeast High School in 1969. In 1973, Connie received a Bachelor of Science Degree with a dual major from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Education and Human Sciences.

On June 17, 1978 she married Joseph Warren Gillilan in Lincoln at St. Andrew's Lutheran Church. Joe and Connie had three sons, Michael, Jason and Sean.

Connie taught in Sutton and Byron Public Schools as a preschool teacher and in later years served as a para-educator through USD 333.

Connie enjoyed flower, herb and vegetable gardening, cooking, refinishing heirloom furniture, crocheting, knitting and sewing.

Connie's father preceded her in death in 1963, and her mother in 2014.

Surviving family members include Connie's husband, Joe, of Hardy, Nebraska; three sons, Michael of Hardy, Nebraska; Jason of Hardy, Nebraska and Sean (and girlfriend, Mollie Frazier) of Omaha, Nebraska; brother-in-law, Dr. Jon Gillilan of Wichita, Kansas; sister, Trudy Hill and husband, Bob, of Lincoln, Nebraska; niece, Krista Hill and husband Tony Wilson; and great nieces Elise and Adalyn Wilson of Omaha; nephew, Mark Hill and wife Emma (Tingting) Liu of Lincoln, and other cousins and friends.

In 2018, Connie had two corneal transplants to restore her vision due to a genetic inherited disease called Fuchs' Dystrophy.  All memorial monetary donations will be given to vision research for this disease.

Family memorial services will be held Friday, 1:00 pm, September 11, 2020 at the Williams Funeral Home in Superior with the Rev. Breen Sipes officiating. Interment will be at the Rosemound Cemetery south of Hardy.

Connie's favorite quote: "Your mind is a garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds."

DUE TO THE CURRENT PANDEMIC ALL THOSE ATTENDING THE MEMORIAL SERVICE ARE ASKED TO WEAR A FACE MASK AND SOCIAL DISTANCE.

Memorials will be directed to the Iowa Lions' Eye Bank.

Williams Funeral Home
814 Idaho Street
Superior, Nebraska  68978

Phone 402-897-3123
williamsfuneralhomes@yahoo.com

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