Rory Anne Hiltner

Rory Hiltner, 68, of Newark, Ohio passed away on June 1, 2025, the victim of a tragic vehicle accident.

Born Rory Anne Musto on May 21, 1957, in Bridgeport, CT, her parents were the late Guy Gerald and Mary Isabelle (Malley) Musto. She is survived by her husband, Don Hiltner; children, Nathan (Sarah), Danae, Justin, Samuel (Danielle), Benjamin "Jammer" (Rachel), and Addy; her two adored "littles" – her grandchildren – Jude and Kora; and her siblings Guy, Mary Anne "Maime" Kennedy (Kelly), and Sally Smith (Joe). In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, Gary.

As a child, she overcame hardship to teach herself how to learn, access education, and become an independent and accomplished adult, despite an often remarkable lack of support. She and her siblings would work paper routes up and down the hills of Green Ridge in Scranton, PA – her hometown – worried about sinkholes and finding comfort and community in their neighborhood friends and nearby cousins. She reached the rank of First Class Girl Scout, the highest achievable award for her era, and as a result traveled to Ottawa with four other scouts to meet fellow Girl Guides of Canada, and as she would relate, even meeting the prime minister of Canada. She was proud to have been a camp counselor along with her sister at Camp Archibald, a scout camp in Kingsley, PA.

Despite childhood learning delays she had later described, she exhibited immense strength and resilience in education, graduating from Bishop Hannan High School in 1975 before attending Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania for one year. She transferred to Marywood College after a gap year, graduating cum laude with a bachelor's degree in speech pathology in 1980. She achieved her Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology from Ohio University in 1983, reaching further educational heights than she had ever thought possible, while meeting lifelong and cherished friends (like Evelyn Cole) throughout her schooling in PA and in Ohio, where she would end up spending the remainder of her life.

In 1983, she met her future husband Don in a wedding party – Rory being a bridesmaid and friend of the bride, Don being a groomsman and former roommate of the groom. Though Don was living in Utah at the time, they established their relationship across the distance, writing each other, sharing long drives and profound, lengthy conversations, and falling in love. During this, as she would later describe, Rory would help bring Don back to faith. Their relationship and marriage was always built on a foundation of strong personal walks with Jesus Christ. Together, they would build a life, grow a family, and set about doing their utmost to emulate Christ's love in every facet of their 39 years of marriage. They first lived together and worked in Fort Wayne, IN – where she would meet one of her most cherished friends, Pam Collier-Ellis – before relocating back to central Ohio, residing in Newark for more than three decades.

Rory's greatest achievements, by her own measure, were her children. Though all of her pregnancies were complicated, she would have continued having children and adoring babies forever, if she could have. And, through her work with ministries, non-profits, relatives and friends, she did so by taking on the role of "mother to all." As it was, she brought six vibrant, talented, and empathetic kids into the world, all of whom she would homeschool, from preschool through high school. She crafted curricula herself, while turning each moment of everyday life into learning opportunities, field trips, and educational activities. She obsessed over creating meaningful and celebratory graduations for her kids as they exited high school, planning intricate, thoughtful events honoring each of her children and their academic accomplishments.

She was the biggest fan and cheerleader of her kids and grandkids in all of their endeavors, but most notably their artistic and career endeavors and interests. She proudly wore her "Hiltner Brothers Road Crew" shirt at all of her sons' small local shows in their youth and would travel great distances to see her musical and intellectual children perform and excel in their areas of expertise, from Test Pilot School to the Grand Ole Opry stage to state orchestra performances and more. The walls and shelves of her home are laden with their photos, drawings, creations, and found-glass art.

To everyone else, though, her most remarkable quality was her love. Her endless compassion, generosity, kindness, and ability to make folks feel so special – traits passed down to her from her beloved Nonie Rose and Aunt Cel – are often the first things her community and acquaintances would notice about her. (Perhaps second only to her smile, or her famously superlative hugs.) Her love was built on action and effort, on showing up for those in her life over and over again, turning the other cheek, giving second, third, and infinite chances. She embodied unconditional love and ceaseless forgiveness.

An excellent cook, she offered her renowned, homemade stromboli to everyone and anyone, from pregnant friends across town to charitable auctions, from GRAMMY-winning artists to best-selling authors. Her Christmas cookies, treats, and candies – buckeyes and graham cracker cookies, "I Can't Leave 'Em Alone" bars and carrot cake – delighted all who were lucky enough to enjoy them; friends and neighbors looked forward to her holiday goodie bags every year. No matter the occasion, big or small, joyous or painful, she would drop anything and everything to show up for her loved ones, to care for them, feed them, and leave them with lasting hugs.

Her joy, her love, and her selflessness touched hundreds and thousands of people across her life, through scores of hugs, prayers, smiles, and dinners served. It's this that will be her greatest legacy, that she strove with every fiber of her being to enact a family, a community, and a world she longed for – for all. And, that she used all of her abilities to make that a lived, day-to-day reality for everyone she met.

As a result, Rory's smile, joy, and delicious food will live on in all of us, not just her family, as she waits for all of us to rejoin her in her love.

A memorial service for Rory Hiltner will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at Narrow Road Community Church, with Pastor Brad Isch officiating. The family will receive friends from 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, prior to the service at the church, 1331 Hebron Rd. Heath, OH. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date, to be announced.

To sign an online guest book, please visit www.brucker-kishlerfuneralhome.com.