​Howard Clifton Hillier

Howard Clifton Hillier

8/11/2022

August 6, 1949 – August 11, 2022

Howard passed away on August 11th, with his wife and children by his side.

Howard will be forever loved by Joan, his best friend and wife of 50 years. He is forever in the hearts of his son Greg and his wife Jen and their daughters Emma and Ava; his daughter Amy and her husband Todd and their son Nate, and his loving mother Jean and late father, George.

Howard welcomed people into his life with open arms, treated everyone with kindness, offered thoughtful advice, shared good laughs and loved fiercely. His happy place was with his family and friends by his side, on the golf course, on his bike, or on the water, and those memories will live on forever.

Cremation has taken place. A private Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

Donations to the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy in Howard’s memory.

Messages and condolences may be left at www.tricitycremations.com or 519.772.1237. Please visit Howard's obituary notice on Facebook.

11 Comments

Testimonials

"I just wanted to say how pleased we were with the help you guys provided to us. I was very nervous about the whole situation however you made us feel very comfortable and at ease. Very professional yet personal, no pressure just quality service. We are recommending you guys every chance we get” Mary

“Hi Shawn, just taking a moment finally to express my gratitude on the wonderful services you have provided thus far. Your staff (Lisa) has been wonderful with everything. A true professional and very empathetic and compassionate to our loss. She did an amazing job in preparing mom for our intimate viewing. Mom looked exactly how she would've if still with us. I was so pleased to see how perfect everything was.” Carlo

“Thank you so much I not sure if you are told enough but you truly are amazing for what you do the help you give the relief you give people after losing a loved one I want to thank you.”

“Shawn, please accept our thanks for making the cremation process simple and dignified. You could not have been any more helpful and I am very grateful for your ‘virtual’ presence.”

“Once again, thank you so much for your kind service on behalf of myself and her family, we thank you for making a difficult time seamless”

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Rémy de Bruijn

8/25/2022 07:52:54 am

Dear family. Friends I would say. Even though we did not see or speak to each other lately, our warm thoughts are with you. We are so sorry for your loss. Howard was such a nice guy, a remarkable and successful businessman, but most of all a true friend and a loving husband, father and grandfather. Having worked with each other for quite a long time, even started with Howard’s father George. We shall forever have Howard in our heart and will never forget him. Wishing the entire family all the best to overcome this great loss. Love Rémy, Karin & Puck

Gord and Barb Walker

8/25/2022 09:00:32 am

Joan Amy and Greg.
So sorry to hear of Howard’s passing. We have so many great memories with you guys.
Barb and Gord

Mike Atman

8/25/2022 09:38:00 am

This is so sad. Howard was an absolute legend.I’ll forever cherish the boat days up at Lake Ontario and more recent golf outing we had in San Diego. He was a good man with a big heart and a heck of a golf game! Gone way too soon. We’ll keep you in our hearts.

Mike & Mariel

Theo Graban

8/25/2022 10:19:41 am

see my mail to Joan which is for me more important today.
I could keep on writing /talking for years !! very very close !

Bjorn van der Wee

8/25/2022 10:36:54 am

Unbelievably sad! It was a true shock when I read the message and it still hurts. Howard was a real pleasure to have around and learn from. My deepest condolences to all his loved ones!

Larryocke

8/25/2022 07:14:07 pm

Still having trouble believing our friend of over 60 years has passed. This kind and caring man will be missed by family and friends for years to come.
Any time we met Howard througout the years we always left with smiles on our faces!
Condolences to Joan, Jean and the entire Hillier Family. Hugs Sylvia and Larry

Frank Graban

8/26/2022 03:18:21 am

I was really shocked when i heard about the news. We've been so close together and we even blew up my engine of my audi 3.0 convertible driving to Kortrijk when you almost missed you private golf lessons which my father arranged for Howard. We really go back together for a very long time and i remember i had to pick to up your father and mother in the city center of Breda 20-25 years ago.
Finally when you had the time to enjoy life even more than you did this happened. I'm really shocked and wish the whole family a lot of strength , love and time to move on with life after such a big loss. Wish you all the best and we will miss him a lot. No words can describe what we feel inside and how much we appreciated Howard as he was part of the family. for always he will be in our heart. all the best. Regards Frank Graban

Johan smet link

8/27/2022 05:38:12 am

Dear Joan and Family,

I was really shocked after this very sad news. I work with Howard for many many years and it’s was a pleasure to work with such a gentleman. Thanks to him we were successful with Smet Canada. It was an honour to know him such a great man. Best regards Johan

Bianca van der Meer

8/29/2022 05:27:13 pm

I am so so sad about this news, which also came to me as an absolute shock. We worked together since 1995 when I started to work for Luijckx/Chocolate Masters, later we both followed the path to Smet along with other colleagues as being 1 family. We worked very closely for years, shipping containers with chocolate from Belgium to Canada. The last years that was taken over by colleagues but we still called every week to discuss business and personal life. I really wanted you to enjoy your well-deserved retirement for so much longer.
Unfortunately fate decided else. My thoughts are with Joan, Jean and your (grand) children of whom you always spoke so proud. RIP Howard, Forever in my heart!

Thomas Neven

8/30/2022 08:33:43 am

Very sad news. You will be missed Howard. We worked together since 2011, as part of the Smet family. My condolences to the whole family.
Thomas Neven

Edyta Kraszkiewicz

8/30/2022 09:04:40 am

I had the pleasure of getting to know Howard a few years ago at a Smet company event in Toronto. Found him to be a very warm and dedicated person, with whom it was so easy to get along and discover Smet Canada and the city. He so wonderfully organized the event for us all and we had special time working and spending time getting to know one another as a team. This was a great shock for me. Howard was an energetic man, who I would never think would have to leave us so soon. My sincere condolences to his family and close ones. He will be remembered.

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