Amy A. Hillis

Amy Albers Hillis, 45 of Orlando Florida, passed away peacefully in her home the evening of June 3rd 2020, surrounded by her daughters and husband.

Amy was a true Southern Florida girl, born in Hollywood, FL in August 1974 to John Paul Albers and Maryjo Lorita Stephan (Lori) and was joined three years later by her brother, John (Jay) Paul Albers, Jr. Amy was proud to be from several generations of GRITS (Girls Raised in the South) and lived her entire life in Florida, from Hollywood to Altamonte, Tampa, St. Cloud, and finally Orlando. She graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor's degree from the University of Central Florida during which she also displayed immeasurable benevolence, generosity, and sacrifice when she met and, on April 25th, 1996, married a nerdy yankee boy from Iowa, Shawn Hillis, and to whom she was sealed in the LDS Orlando Temple in October 18th, 1997.

Amy always wanted to be a mother, and it was a calling that she poured her love, soul, heart, sweat, and tears into. Her journey into and throughout motherhood was full of countless miracles. The first came with the pregnancy and birth of her first daughter, Abby, who couldn't wait to experience the world and was unexpectedly born in August 1999 11 weeks early. Neither mother nor daughter was expected to survive; Abby was just 2.2 lbs and Amy experienced HELLP syndrome. Like the fighter she always was, Amy pulled through and threw herself into motherhood right away, driving up to the hospital every day for 2 months straight, still healing from her C-section, to see her daughter. See Abby today, you would never suspect she had such a difficult start to life.

The next miracle came after the birth of her second daughter, Maddie, in April 2001. Having two girls born 20 months apart would have been hard enough without adding the fact that Maddie screamed from colic for nearly a year straight. The family always joked about Maddie being the only baby they know of to be kicked out of the hospital nursery because she was 'disturbing the other children.' The miracle that year was somehow maintaining sanity and intact ear-drums. Today, Maddie is still full of crazy (the fun kind) and still has an enormous lung capacity; but, like her mom, she has the magnetic personality and natural leadership to which everyone gravitates.

The third miracle was truly a blessing, as it came in the form of her third daughter, Annie, in May 2004. After the chaos of Maddie's first year, it was a shock and a true gift from God to have such an easy and sweet baby. It was near Annie's first year when Amy and Shawn commented that they didn't know what Annie's cry sounded like. Sadly, that state did not extend into Annie's toddler years. But throughout the years, Annie always strived to do right, earning her the nickname TPO (The Perfect One), which had the bonus of simultaneously exasperating all three girls.

Amy had always imagined herself as a 'boy mom' with a household of rambunctious sons, and while she may have had three daughters instead, her household was no less chaotic with her girls' antics. From making an indoor sandpit out of sugar on a rainy day, to sneaking out of the house during their mom's 2-minute shower to politely ask the neighbors for chocolate, Amy's days were never dull or easy. She blogged many of her experiences because, as she would always say, 'You can't make this crap up!' (see https://hillishilarity.wordpress.com/ should you ever need a good, nostalgic laugh). Amy was very purposeful and proactive in how she parented, targeting specific qualities she wanted to instill in her daughters, such as kindness, compassion, confidence, humor, family, humility, courage, supportive, loyalty, wisdom, hardworking, standing for what was right, and being strong, capable women. But accepting that her children had their own personality, agency, and generations worth of stubbornness, Amy and Shawn's response to comments about their children was "we take no credit, we take no blame." Given how well the girls have turned out and in Amy's words "do not suck", perhaps they should have gone with taking the credit. If you did not know Amy that well, all you have to do is get to know her children and you will see strong reflections of her and all the things that were important to her.

Amy had many qualities that made her a wonderful wife, mother, and friend. Her home cooking was amazing, and greatly missed by her older daughters during the college semesters. Her home was always beautifully decorated, even if it included a bathing suit that was accidentally melted onto a pan humorously hanging in the kitchen (her children's antics did not fade with age). She was great to shop with, whether it was at the grocery store, trying to buy enough food to feed hundreds of girls at summer camp, or at the mall, trying to find the perfect dress for an event, because she had the persistence, patience, and special talent for finding the most incredible deals.

Amy also had a profound relationship with her savior, Jesus Christ, and her Heavenly Father, that manifested itself in effable charity, compassion, and a passion for serving others. She put her heart into everything that she did, accepting everyone, and making those she served feel like a part of her family. She never wanted to be in the spotlight - she was happiest when she helped one-on-one or in the background. But time and again she was called to serve as a leader in her church, from Ward and Stake Primary President, Relief Society President, Gospel Doctrine Teacher, and lastly as a Group Leader with Shawn for the church's 12 step Addiction Recovery Program.

She was fiercely loyal and protective to her family and friends, and always put others before herself. She was incredibly fun to be around because of her humor, quick wit, charm, her acceptance of you for whoever you were, and the many stories of her crazy experiences that often seemed too wild to be true, yet always were. She had a talent for seeing the truest part of a person and an innate clarity of right and wrong.

In May 2019, Amy was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic colon cancer, the same cancer that her father was suffering with at the time, and she started treatment immediately. She was very private about her illness as she did not want her relationships with friends and family to suddenly become about her being sick. Throughout her battle with cancer, she maintained that the best thing people could do for her was to send her funny texts, memes, and videos, all of which she enjoyed and shared with her family for some moments of carefree laughter. Amy fought through the cancer and treatments that included chemo, immunotherapy, radiation, and experimental treatments yet still worked full time in her daughters' high school library until the COVID-19 quarantine order was put into place. Far from being a trial, she found joy in working with her friends in the library and seeing her youngest daughter there every day. Throughout her entire life, she was the definition of a hard worker, and she taught her daughters through her example to always work hard as well.

Amy was famous for her life-long love of the beach, from days in high school where she played hooky once a week to go, to multiple visits every week of the summer with her family. As her battle with cancer was rapidly coming to an end, Amy wanted to take at least one last family trip to the ocean. Her husband made it happen, ensuring that she would have everything she would possibly need to be comfortable and enjoy the trip. The first thing the family did when getting to the hotel room was set Amy up in a chair in front of a full length window to look out to the ocean, smell the sea breeze, and hear the crashing waves. Amy declared it as "perfect". Two days later, she passed peacefully in her own bed at home, surrounded and held by her family.

Amy is survived by her mother, Lori Sizler; brother, John Albers, Jr.; daughters, Abigail, Madeline, and Annabelle; and husband, Shawn. She was preceded in death by her father, John Albers, who passed away on November 20th, 2019 from his own battle with cancer.

Due to the gathering restrictions from COVID-19, there is no memorial service currently planned. When the situation changes, the family will re-evaluate and strive to let everyone know of any planned memorials.

In lieu of flowers, Amy's family requests support for colon and rectal cancer research and treatments, as it would help address Amy's great fear—that her daughters would suffer from the same cancer. Or, if you wish to remember Amy in a more personal way, the family asks that you consider extending a compassionate service to help and uplift someone who needs it, as Amy did for so many others.

"I love my life. I don't feel like something is missing or that I am unaccomplished. I heard someone talk about her passion and I realized my passion IS my family. I'm so lucky that way. It is not everyone's and to be able to do what I always wanted to do and feel happy doing it – I know I'm lucky.
Grateful. Amazed. Really, truly, blessed. All of that sounds trite, but I GET how good I have it. And I don't do it so someone will tell me I'm the best mom out there or to give me props. I do it because I love it. I love them. I love who I am when I am doing what I love for them."
-Amy Hillis February 18, 2014