Janice Ann Ritz Hilling
Nov. 20, 1929 – Aug. 27, 2026

On August 27, 2026 Janice Ann Ritz Hilling, aged 96, of James Creek, Pa. went to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. She was born on November 20,1929 in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania to Carrie (Heacox) and J. Robert Ritz. She was preceded in death by her parents and her two brothers, whom she adored, Ronny and Bobby Ritz. Despite her advanced age her spirit, sense of humor, and body were vibrant and her passing from a fall feels sudden. Janice is survived by her one and only love, William “Bill”Joshua Hilling (96), to whom she was married to and adored by, for 77 years. She is also survived by her devoted daughter and best friend, Janese (Hilling) Leidy (R. Grant Leidy) and their children Taron (Meghan) Leidy and Tiara (Tony) Nascimento, all of Shamong, NJ, as well as her loving son William Craig Hilling, his two children Jessica Hilling-Keil (Michael Keil) and Wm. Justin (Kimberly) Hilling of Huntingdon, Pa.
Janice was blessed with nine great grandchildren Wyatt, Lorelei, William and Emmett Keil, Eleanor, Samuel, and Thomas Leidy, and Willa and Thayer Hilling.
Janice and Bill met when they were sixteen attending Hollidaysburg Area High School. They were introduced by their mutual friends, Rosemary Barton and Phyllis Briggs, when they all hung out at the soda fountain at Jack’s Service Station in Lakemont, Pa. where Bill worked. Bill was smitten with the shy girl with the sky blue eyes and the exuberant sense of humor, “She was a real firecracker.” Janice was a majorette and nominated homecoming queen, which pained her as she hated big audiences. But with small groups, Janice was always playing tricks and joking with anyone who she encountered. This quality remained true until her last days.
Janice loved adventures. She loved telling stories of her life with Bill, such as how they took a tiny boat out to an island when they lived in Biloxi, Mississippi with their new Air Force friends, just after they were married at 19. A storm blew in and they used their ponchos as sails to get them back to shore as sharks circled their little boat. Janice and Bill had a big, full, fun life together.
Janice made friends wherever she would go. Many were in Chambersburg, Pa. where they lived from the late 1980s to early 2000s, as Bill owned NAPA stores in the region. Then, as snowbirds in Titusville, Florida, where Janice spontaneously put the top down on her white convertible Mustang and got her gang of girlfriends, all in their 80s, to jump in so they could join in the community parade. She had plenty of dear friends from a lifetime in Hollidaysburg and throughout her retirement years in Huntingdon.
What made Janice happiest was having company come out on the boat with her at Raystown Lake. Every person who had a relationship with her has memories of the wind blowing through their hair and the sun in their eyes, as Janice watched the kids on skis and Bill manned the vessel. They started this tradition first on the old lake where they had a cottage and an open invitation, as long as you brought a covered dish, continuing it later near Aitch where they spent their retirement. She prided herself on how well she could back the boat trailer in at the dock. At the end of the day her guests were treated to a piece of her famous pie. Janice did not have a career that paid; her job was making people laugh and have fun.
She was often sick in her youth and survived terrible pain and kidney surgeries when her children were small. The doctors told her she would likely not live much past forty years. Bill worked three jobs to pay the medical bills. Even during those hard years Janice attended to her real work which was preparing fun for her family. Bill would come home and she would have the car and the kids ready to go camping. Janice continued this tradition with her grandkids and great-grandkids always saying,“Oh Bill, that was fun, wasn’t it? We should do this again!”
Despite her small stature, Janice was never afraid to try new things. She hunted with the Hilling Family, water skied even after she was a grandmother, took up painting when she was 80 creating portraits that she entered in the Huntingdon Co. Fair bringing home ribbons. She wasn’t afraid to voice her opinions, and she wasn’t afraid to share the messages of Jesus.
She made people feel special, from the waitresses at Donna’s in Huntingdon, to her family. And as the last few months of her life were spent in NJ at a facility to be closer to her daughter’s care, she made it her mission to sooth any despondent resident– If they were crying she would hug them and tell them she loved them. This was her ministry in life– to bring joy and comfort to those around her and especially make them laugh.
While her voice still echoes with this song in our ears, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know”, may we be reminded of her joy and unending love of the one she would want you to know…Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!
Services will be held privately at the convenience of the family.
Arrangements are by Plank, Stitt, & Stevens Funeral Home, 421 Montgomery St., Hollidaysburg.
Condolences can be made at www.stevensfamilyfuneralhomes.com or Stevens Family Funeral Homes Facebook.