Leslie Martell Davies-Hilliard

Leslie Davies-Hilliard passed away on June 23rd, 2024 surrounded by family including her mother, her sisters, her three children, and her beloved husband. She was 70 years old. 

She found inspiration from the people around her, from her love for animals, and from lessons learned early about showing compassion for those in need. Though she often preferred to stay behind the scenes, she combined kindness with dogged persistence to give back - first with her family and then with the greater community as she made her way through the world.

Leslie was born on February 12th, 1954 to Gene and Gloria Davies. She was raised in Bryans Road, Maryland as the oldest of ten siblings. With such a large family came many adventures, and later she often spoke fondly of her time at home or at the family cottage by the Potomac. Her formal education would lead her to Charles County Community College and then briefly away from Maryland to graduate in marine biology at the Florida Institute of Technology in 1977.

She began her civil service as a water tester for the local government in Florida. Wanting to be closer to family, Leslie used that experience to move back and join the US Army Corps of Engineers at the Dalecarlia Reservoir. By 1987, she had begun her work as an Information Management Specialist for the EPA. There she worked on the maintenance and design of webpages from when the internet was still in its nascency until her retirement in 2017.

In 1982, Leslie moved to Greenbelt which she would call home for nearly half a century. She met Larry Hilliard at her Catholic church, and in 1985 they were married. Together they bought a home and raised three children.

Leslie’s one instance of letting her contributions take center stage was literal. For over ten years, she and her husband were active in NASA Goddard's Music and Drama Club where she took leading roles and gave award-winning performances.

Most often she used her strengths to give back to the local community. The proficiency with a sewing machine and knitting needles that she developed growing up in such a large family came in handy whether she was making costumes for her kids or scarves for a Holy Redeemer fundraiser. Her baking skills meant that bake sales were a guaranteed success and her children were guaranteed to be popular on their birthdays. As a parent volunteer, she built and maintained the Greenbelt Municipal Swim Team site.

Leslie loved to travel. She brought her family along on vacations to Italy, Germany, Korea, Alaska, Hawaii, and many stops in between. After her retirement, she had time to spend at her home away from home in Bozeman, Montana. She stayed out there months at a time immersing herself in the local community. She valued the history of the places she visited and the open spaces they let her explore.

And she adored the animals that inhabited those spaces. From the many different creatures her siblings brought home growing up to the adopted dogs she opened up her heart to, she was always caring for something. Bird feeders and a maintained garden that deer enjoy curating meant she also looked after wildlife -- intentionally or not.

Leslie, with all of her love and tenacity, will be remembered by her sons Harrison and Wesley; her daughter Haley; her husband Lawrence; her mother Gloria; her brothers Chris, Greg, and Peter; and her sisters Sharon, Carol, Loraine, Theresa, and Victoria. She is reunited with her sister Charlotte and her father Leslie “Gene” Eugene.

Please consider donating to The Box Project or one of the two charities listed below.

The Box Project Fighting Rural Poverty  /https://boxproject.org/

Memorial Gathering 

Saturday, June 29, 2024

10:00 - 11:00 am (Eastern time)

Holy Redeemer Catholic Church

4902 Berwyn Rd, College Park, MD 20740

Get Directions Send Flowers

Mass

Saturday, June 29, 2024

11:00am - 12:00 pm (Eastern time)

Holy Redeemer Catholic Church

4902 Berwyn Rd, College Park, MD 20740

Get Directions Send Flowers

Youtube Streaming Live Video can be found at "Funeral Mass for Leslie Davies-Hilliard" by Going to Youtube channel "Holy Redeemer College Park"

https://www.youtube.com/live/SEpXhGdEjow...

There will be a recording on the channel when the live video stream concludes.

Thank you for tuning in on June 29th.

Larry and Leslie