Hillier Funeral Home

Who We Are

Our staff of professionals has years of experience caring for families, from all walks of life. Each comes to us because we are leaders in our profession, with dedication to service, and professional integrity.

When we sit down with a family, our shared goal is to create a fitting, memorable and affordable service for their loved one. We offer them a wide variety of services and products, as well as a wealth of creative ideas and suggestions. Together, we'll design a memorial or funeral service that suits their needs now, and in the future. Families who come to us know that years from now, they will have deep peace-of-mind because in coming to us, they've done their best to honor their loved one.

Our History

Hillier Funeral Home wasestablished in 1918 by Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Hillier. Their son, C. Russell Hillier, carried out its reputation for service for many years. Their accomplishments were highlighted with numerous funeral home "firsts" in the Central Texas community.

In 1947, the funeral home moved to 502 W. 26th St., to what was then one of Texas' most beautiful and modern facilities. On April 20, 1998, after almost eight decades of service, and a half a century in the location at 502 W. 26th, Hillier Funeral Home held a open house for the present state-of-the-art, 12,000 square foot funeral home located at 2301 E. 29th St., in Bryan, Texas.

This new facility and it's professional staff welcomes all with a warm, inviting atmosphere where our client families receive the highest level of funeral service. We are committed to being the most professional, ethical and highest quality funeral home in our industry. Hillier Funeral Home and its employees take pride in their honesty, integrity and quality in all that we do, continuing a well-known "tradition of service."

Our Valued Staff

Kyle J. Incardona, Managing Partner/Funeral Director

Born in Buffalo, N.Y., Kyle had the pleasure of growing up in a small Polish-Italian family with deep roots in the Catholic faith. He attended college at Niagara University in Niagara Falls, N.Y., where he studied psychology and sociology. In the mid-1990s, Kyle moved to Fort Worth, where he attended the Dallas Institute of Funeral Services, fell in love with his adopted home and grew up within the industry. It was there that he met the love of his life, Cathy, and they were married in June 2000.

Early in their marriage, Kyle went back to school at Texas Wesleyan University where he studied business management. He started off as a student and eventually ran two funeral homes, a cemetery and a flower shop. He briefly left helping families when he oversaw several funeral homes and cemeteries throughout the state of Texas. The Incardonas moved to Bryan-College Station in the summer of 2007, when the opportunity to become a managing partner with Hillier Funeral Home arose. He longed to go back to helping families again.

Kyle and Cathy have three children who attend St. Joseph Catholic School and St. Thomas Aquinas Child Development Center. Cathy is an English teacher at Bryan High School and the family are members of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in College Station. They give back to the community in any way that they can. Kyle is a past Grand Knight for the Knights of Columbus, founding member of the ConQuest Club in Bryan-College Station, is a member of the BNI Club and enjoys watching his children play t-ball for Bryan North and watching his little girl dance.
Jeremy Nicholas Delgado, Funeral Director

Jeremy Delgado, a native of Iola, Texas, came to Hillier Funeral Home in 2006 and received his license in 2007. He attended Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service in Houston, where he received his associate degree in applied sciences. Jeremy is currently a member of Bryan Rotary Club.

He attended school in Iola, Texas, and graduated from Iola High School in 2004. Jeremy married Amber Schuessler of College Station on October 13, 2007, at the Greenbranch. Jeremy loves to hunt, fish, ride four-wheelers and spend time with his family.

He welcomes the opportunity to serve others and give his time making a difference in the lives of our clients at their time of need.
Joe Don Raiborn, Funeral Director

Joe Raiborn, a native of Pasadena, Texas, joined the Hillier staff in December 2009. He attended Tomlinson College, where he received a degree in science, and Commonwealth College of Funeral Science. He is currently attending Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston, where he is studying for his Master of Divinity in Urban Ministry. Joe was a Lieutenant and Captain for nearly 20 years with the Pasadena Fire Department, where he was a training chief and chaplain for many years. He has also served as a pastor for the Church of God of Prophecy. He is a member of Lions Club International.

He was an assistant manager/supervisor for funeral homes in both Houston and Nederland, Texas, before joining the Hillier family.

He married his wife, Regina on December 31, 2005, and they are blessed with two twin daughters, Jaedon and Kaedon. Regina is a teacher at Bryan ISD. He loves helping families in their time of loss and need.
Valencia Rhodes, Office Manager

Valencia Rhodes began her career with Hillier Funeral Home in July 2007. She has more than 20 years experience in customer service, office administration, accounting support, recruiting and sales. She attended both Texas A&M University and the University of Houston with a concentration on a Bachelor of Science in psychology.

Val lives in Lexington, Texas, where her family has had roots for more than 150 years. She grew up in northwest Houston and moved to Lexington, where her parents grew up, in August 2005.

Val has two boys, one grown son who attends Blinn College in Bryan and one in elementary school. She is a member of St. James Lutheran Church in Lexington, Texas. One of her favorite quotes is, “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile,” by Albert Einstein.
Charlie Ray, Ambassador/Lay Minister

Charlie Ray came to Hillier Funeral Home in 2004 after serving the College Station, Navasota and Franklin areas for more than 36 years with the U.S. Postal Service. After retiring from the post office in 2003, he became a substitute teacher for Bryan ISD, was president of the Bonham Little League and was an instructor for the Senior Citizen Exercise Organization. He served in the U.S. Navy for four years, including a tour in Vietnam.

He serves as a clergyman for many services here at Hillier Funeral Home. He and his wife, Terry, have two sons and four grandchildren. They attend the Wesley United Methodist Church in Bryan.

“The opportunity to serve others in their time of need is what drives me to work. I thoroughly enjoy meeting others and helping them out anyway I can
Christy L. Slikas, Administrative Assistant

Christy Slikas, a native of New York City and a longtime resident of Dallas-Fort Worth, has been with Hillier Funeral Home since the beginning of 2008, having previously worked at The Bryan-College Station Eagle as a marketing consultant, obituary and legal clerk and bridal announcement coordinator and in Austin as a technical support specialist.

She graduated from Lamar High School in Arlington, Texas, in 2001 and moved to Austin in 2003. She moved to the Bryan-College Station area in 2005 to be with her fiancé, Robert White.

She married Robert on September 1, 2007, and they spend their spare time updating their new home.
John Hardy, Pre-Need Coordinator

John Hardy has been in the funeral industry for more than 15 years, and takes joy in helping people with their pre-arrangement plans. He joined the Hillier family in 2009 and enjoys working with the staff and meeting the families served in the past year.

He has been married for more than 38 years and is blessed with two children and two grandchildren. He graduated from Rocky Mountain Christian College with a degree in theology.
Dan Castillo, Ambassador

Dan Castillo has been with Hillier Funeral Home since 2006. He is a native of California and attended East Los Angeles College and California State University at Los Angeles. He retired from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department after more than 31 years of service.

He and his wife Susan have two children and have been in the area since 1999. Dan’s family owned and operated their own mortuary service in the Los Angeles area and in various parts of California.

He and his wife are avid Texas A&M University fans with season passes to many TAMU sports event. Dan truly enjoys serving the community and is involved in many organizations in the area. Dan and his wife attend A&M United Methodist Church.
Lanelle Connealy, Ambassador

Lanelle Connealy, a native of Navasota, Texas, came to Hillier Funeral Home in 2008. She attended Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. She returned to the Brazos Valley after retiring from Exxon Company, USA (now ExxonMobil). Her 33 years of service were spent in Tomball and the Houston area.

Lanelle has one son who lives in Edmond, Okla., and a sister in Bryan. Lanelle has been active in the Bryan-College Station Newcomers Club since living in College Station and is a member of the First Baptist Church of Bryan. She enjoys gardening, travel and spending time with friends. She looks forward to the continuing opportunity to be of service to others.
Denise DeLuke, Ambassador

Denise is a cradle Catholic. She was born in Austin, lived there for six months and then moved to Bryan. All four of her grandparents were from Corleone, Sicily, Italy, and she is very much into Sicilian customs, which are now, sadly, dying.

She is a widow with two grown daughters and two granddaughters, whom she spends most of her spare time with.

She is a member of St. Anthony Altar Society and just ended her ten year tenure as a corresponding secretary. She is the receptionist/secretary at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, the church she grew up in.

One of Denise's favorite quotes is one spoken by Barbara Bush, "Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others."
Nicole Wolfe, Child Care Provider

Nicole Wolfe came to Hillier Funeral Home in 2008, first as an intern and then as a child care provider. She is certified in CPR for children and adults. She graduated from Bryan High School and Hammond Oliver in 2009. She will be attending the Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service in Houston.

She volunteers for Invisible Children, a relief fund for African children, and is the president of the Technical National Honors Society. In her spare time, she enjoys soccer, rock climbing and reading.
Barbara Mason, Ambassador

Barbara Mason of Bryan has been with Hillier since 2006, but her family has had close ties to Hillier for more than 50 years. Barbara is the wife of the late Charles R. Mason, who passed away in 2006. He was a funeral director and embalmer at Hillier Funeral Home since 1996.

She has two sons, one daughter, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She has worked as an administrative assistant for most of her life. Barbara enjoys serving as ambassador and serving the community families. She attends Snook Assembly of God, where she is an organist.
Billye Murray, Ambassador

Billye Murray has been at Hillier Funeral Home since 2003 and has been in the Bryan-College Station area since 1975. She worked as a chair side dental assistant for more than 20 years, four years in the Bio Medical Consultant office and six years for the Texas Agricultural Extension Office.

Billye and her husband Joel have been married for more than 31 years. They have three children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She enjoys her Bible group, making crafts and baking.

Billye loves interacting with families who come through the doors at Hillier Funeral Home. With heartfelt sincerity, she feels her work is a compassionate way of serving the community.
Debbie Gau, Ambassador

Debbie Gau was born and raised in Houston. After receiving a bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State University, she moved to College Station and is currently employed with Texas A&M University. Her family lives in Houston, including three nieces and two nephews.

Debbie enjoys handwork including knitting, spinning, quilting, crocheting and counted crosswork. During the springtime tours, she demonstrates spinning for the Independence Historical Society at a dog-trot log cabin. She has also demonstrated spinning at the Washington-on-the-Brazos Park for the Texas Independence Day event. She is also the current president of the Brazos Valley Knitting Guild.
Kathleen Sanden, Ambassador

Kathleen moved to the Bryan-College Station area several years ago to do home health care. In February 2009, she joined the Hillier family as an ambassador. In a lot of ways, Kathleen says, working for Hillier has a lot of similarities with home health caring – helping, comforting and compassionate care.
Rowena Philbeck, Ambassador

Rowena Philbeck came to Hillier Funeral Home in 2006. She has worked full-time at Texas A&M University for more than 16 years and presently works at the Technical Reference Center/College of Architecture. A native of Beaumont, Texas, she has lived in Gatesville, Texas, and most recently, to the Bryan area.

Rowena helped her father with the upkeep of the Temple Emanuel Cemetery in Beaumont, and it was only fitting she carry on the tradition of helping out in the funeral industry. Rowena enjoys the outdoors, is a gourd artist and a spinner of fibers and enjoys spending time with her three children and four grandchildren.