Frederica (Freder) Sylvester Hilton, 97, of Bremen, died May 17 at Fieldcrest Manor, Waldoboro. She was born Jan. 5, 1909, in Rockville, the youngest of three children born to Ida Emery Sylvester and Frederick Sylvester. Her father died the day she was born.
She grew up in Rockville and Rockland, graduating from Rockland High School in 1926. Her first husband was Raynold Tibbetts of Rockland, with whom she had a daughter, Cynthia. During the 1930s she worked as a telephone operator and at J.J. Newberry’s Store in Rockland. She also lived and worked on Staten Island, N.Y. for one year. She married Carl W. Hilton in 1937, and moved to Bremen where she lived for the rest of her life. They had two daughters, Diane and Mary Sue. She and Carl lived on the Hilton family farm and from 1946-1959 they operated Hilton’s Store, a grocery store attached to their home. In the late 1940’s, she began assisting her father-in-law, Willis L. Hilton, with the duties of Bremen town clerk and served as his deputy for several years. She was elected Bremen town clerk in 1956 and continued in that office until 1989. Carl was the town’s tax collector and treasurer during that same period. Bremen had no town office at that time so Bremen residents came to the Hilton home for permits, licenses and to pay taxes.
Freder was an excellent cook. From 1958-1960, she was the pastry chef at the Med-O-Mak Inn in Waldoboro. After the restaurant closed, she was the cook at the Thompson Guest House and Cottages in New Harbor for several years.
When she moved to Bremen in 1937, she joined the Patriotic Club of Bremen and actively supported the club in its many activities through the 1980’s. At her death she was the club’s oldest member in both age and longevity. She was a member of the Bremen Union Church and its Ladies Aid Society until it disbanded. She is a past member of the Nobleboro Grange. She served the community in many capacities and was an active member of any organization to which she belonged.
She was devoted to her large, extended family. Freder loved parties and especially loved hosting many elaborate gatherings in her home. She enjoyed playing the piano and used to play for family parties and events at the Broad Cove School next door. In her later years, she developed a passion for Beano, and for many years she and Carl were a familiar sight at Beano halls in the area as well as at Moody’s Diner in Waldoboro, where they ate lunch almost every day.
After Carl died in 2001, Frederica lived with her daughter and son-in-law Diane and Leo O’Connor at the family home in Bremen. In 2001, at age 92, Frederica received the Bremen Cane, presented to the town’s oldest citizen.
Frederica Hilton is survived by daughters, Cynthia Wass and husband Arnold of Rockland, Diane O’Connor and husband Leo of Bremen, and Mary Sue Weeks of Bremen; stepson, William Doane and wife Mary of Sebago and No. Ft. Myers, Fla.; eight grandchildren, Dwight Wass and Keith Wass of Lincolnville, Eric Wass and wife Valerie of Rockland, Stephanie Guyer and husband Stephen of Springfield, Mass., Michael Weeks and wife Ericka of Metairie, La., Karen Weeks of Brooklyn, N.Y., Mark Doane and wife Cathy of Keene, N.H., and Scot Hilton and wife Joan of Gilmanton, N.H.; ten great-grandchildren; one great-great grandson; sister, Josephine Tolman of Rockland; brother, Evans Tolman and wife Avis of Glen Cove; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her husband, Carl W. Hilton; brother, Theodore Sylvester, Sr.; and sisters, Ruth Stanley, Dorothy Crockett, Gladys Tolman, and Mary Tolman.
Visiting hours 6-8 p.m., Sat., May 20 at Hall Funeral Home, Waldoboro.
Funeral service 3 p.m., Sun., May 21 at Bremen Union Church, Rt. 32, Bremen followed by committal in the Broad Cove Cemetery, Bremen. Rev. Susan Winter will officiate.
In memory of Frederica, memorial donations may be made to the Bremen Union Church,
P.O. Box 223, Bremen, ME 04551, or to the Bremen Patriotic Club Scholarship Fund, c/o Lorelei Wilson, 921 Waldoboro Rd., Bremen, ME 04551.
Arrangements are entrusted to Hall Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Waldoboro.
