Our Family Tree
Learn about the generous donors who have established charitable funds through Stark Community Foundation.
Kathleen Fernandez Hillibish knew from the time she was in second grade that she wanted to work in history. Shortly after taking an education course at Otterbein University in the fall of 1967, she decided that becoming a history teacher wasn’t the right career path for her.
“Now that I think about it, I’ve been teaching history all my life … just in another way,” she said.
Early on in her career, Kathleen took a job at Zoar Village and Fort Laurens State Memorial in Tuscarawas County where she was first interviewed by Jim Hillibish of the Canton Repository about her new role. A few months later he asked her on a date, and the rest is history.
More than 40 years passed; years that were nothing short of enjoyable and priceless moments spent in a community they loved. During his 44-year tenure at the Repository, Jim covered nearly every beat at the paper. Just as Jim dedicated his life to journalism, Kathleen dedicated hers to history. Throughout their life together, they attended art shows, movies, concerts and museum exhibits in the community. They also enjoyed cooking, gardening and spending time with their dog Lily.
Then, 2014 happened. It’s a year that will go down in the history books of Kathleen’s life. In April, her mother Burma died, and five months later, Jim passed away from a long-fought battle with kidney cancer. After two of the closest people in her life passed away, she was left with two estates and a broken heart. Kathleen turned to Stark Community Foundation for a way to honor them.
Kathleen thought about establishing a private foundation, but quickly realized it was a better fit to establish a fund at the Foundation that honors all of their loves of history. Income from the Fernandez Hillibish History Fund will be used to support museums and historical societies in Stark or Tuscarawas County.
“Jim would have wanted this,” said Kathleen. “My mom would have approved of me doing this as well. They both loved history and always supported me and my work.”
Kathleen plans to make grant recommendations out of her fund while she’s living, and will work collaboratively with the Foundation to identify worthy organizations to support.
“I want to do my part to make a difference in this field,” she added.
In addition to creating a fund at the Foundation, Kathleen established a charitable gift annuity, giving her a steady, predictable stream of income for life.
“It’s a win-win situation for me,” she explained. “I knew all along I was going to give my estate to Stark Community Foundation, so it only makes sense that I give the Foundation the money now. This will allow the money to accrue interest, inevitably making a larger impact.”
Kathleen also took out a life insurance policy and named the Foundation as the beneficiary. She uses the annual income from the gift annuity to make the payment on the life insurance policy.
“I’m not giving back to the community for the fame or recognition; I’m simply giving back to a community and field that I love,” confessed Kathleen. “It’s my hope that my story can be inspiration to at least one person to give back.”