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Johnnie Ruth (Casteel) Hillis, age 79, of Grove, stepped into the presence of her Lord and Savior on Monday, December 23, 2019. Johnnie was born November 1, 1940 in Stilwell Oklahoma to John Rufus and Etta Fern (Smith) Casteel. She accepted Christ as her Savior when she was just a child and her love for Him lasted her entire life.
She graduated from Stilwell High School in 1958, went to Tulsa Business College for one year and then on to Oklahoma Baptist University for a year. While there she worked at Federal National Bank in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
Johnnie met her husband John LeRoy Hillis in July of 1962 on a blind date. It was love at first sight and they were married on February 15, 1963 at Trinity Baptist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
John and Johnnie were members of Trinity for five years. They bought a home in East Tulsa and moved in 1966 where they raised their three girls. They later joined Plainview Baptist Church where they served for more than 34 years. Johnnie taught Sunday School and a weekly ladies Bible study for more than 30 years. She established and managed the church library and served as the Associational Library Director for the Tulsa Baptist Association. She trained Vacation Bible School leaders within the state and taught VBS for many years. She enjoyed music, sang in the choir and served in any position needed. She also worked outside the home as the church secretary for many years.
John, Johnnie and the girls enjoyed camping around various Oklahoma lakes until they found Grand Lake of Oklahoma. After many years of visiting Grand Lake, John and Johnnie began spending most weekends and summers in Grove at their lake home. They moved to Grove in September of 2000, and joined Grove’s First Baptist Church. Johnnie continued to serve as church librarian, Sunday School teacher, part time secretary, and served in church sewing clubs. She had a love for sewing and quilting. Toward the end of her life, even when suffering from dementia for the last several years, she continued to sew, and that brought her much peace of mind.
Johnnie loved reading and studying God’s Word for many hours each week. Her love for learning, especially about the Bible, was passed on to her girls, and their families. Together, she and John
taught their daughters how to love and serve the Lord. She taught them how to be good mothers to their children by her great example.
Johnnie was preceded in death by her parents, John and Etta Casteel, and two sisters, Elaine Raleigh and JoAnn Kester.
She is survived by her husband of 56 years, John of the home; her daughters, LeAnna Hall and her husband Mark of Comanche, Terri Hillis of Grove, Crissy Nelson and her husband Thomas of Grove, seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, as well as two brothers, Ivan Casteel of Oklahoma City and Ronnie Casteel of Bixby, and one sister, Linda Sue Hummingbird of Stilwell.
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