Emma Delane Johnson Hillard

Funeral services for Emma Johnson Hillard will be held 12 noon Friday, July 2, 2021, at Palmer Memorial Chapel in Columbia, SC. Interment will follow at Memorial Gardens of Columbia. Public viewing will be held on Thursday from 1-6pm and on Friday from 11 am until the hour of service. Emma Delane Hillard peacefully exchanged her rugged cross for her precious crown on June 26, 2021 at Prisma Palmetto Baptist Continuous Care in Columbia, South Carolina. Emma was the daughter of the late Peter and Ida Mae Johnson and was born September 27, 1950 in St. George, South Carolina. She is preceded in death by her siblings Raisy Simon, Curtis Johnson, Margaret Johnson, Robert Johnson and Nathaniel Johnson. Mrs. Emma attended Bowman High School in Bowman, SC. She was a faithful member of Brookland Baptist Northeast Church where she served as a member of the intercessory prayer team. She also worked with the children’s summer programs and Sunday school. Emma worked with the Federal US Marshall Service for more than 25 years. She then changed careers and was employed at Carolina’s Telco Federal Credit Union as Teller Manager for 25 plus years until her retirement. Her passion in life was spending quality time with her family, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Emma and her husband, Brunson Hillard, met as children. Their families grew up together as they worked with their parents as sharecroppers. They later fell in love and were married in Washington D.C. and they remained married for fifty years. Their union was blessed with three children. She was a dedicated loving wife, an excellent mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. She leaves loving memories cherished by her devoted husband, Brunson Hillard Jr.; children, Sylvia Thomas of Orangeburg, SC, Ratesha Davis of Columbia, SC and Sonya Hillard-Taylor (Chadrick) of Houston, TX; eight grandchildren, Jordanne Thomas of Sumter, SC, Demtrius Thomas of Orangeburg, SC, Dwayne Davis Jr. of Columbia,SC, TreVaughn Thomas of Orangeburg, SC, Benjamin Davis of Columbia, SC, Ferron Thomas of Orangeburg, SC, Makenzie Taylor of Houston, TX, Mark Minor of Omaha, NE; two great grandchildren, Genesis Graham-Thomas of Rock Hill, SC and Serenity Ballard of Sumter, SC; five siblings; Reather Mae Willis of St. George, SC, Peter (Jeanette) Johnson Jr. of Forestville, MD, Betty (Richard) Edminston of Laurel, MD, Phillipine J. Wheeler of St. Matthews, SC, Clifford (Shirley Ann) Johnson of St. George, SC; sisters-in-law, Linda Johnson of St. George, SC, Eartha Lee Brown of Washington, D.C., Mary Oliver of Washington, D.C., Drucilla (Sonny) Johnson of Washington, DC, and a host of aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, other relatives and many dear friends. Services will be Livestreamed at 12:00 noon on Facebook - Palmer Memorial Chapel Inc.

Emma Delane Johnson Hillard

September 27, 1950 - June 26, 2021