Carol Ann Hiller
Carol Ann Hiller (nee Wolter), 90 years, passed away peacefully at her home surrounded by loving family. She went to her eternal home with the Lord on August 7, 2026.
Carol was a lifelong Lutheran, baptized at Apostle Lutheran Church in Milwaukee and confirmed and married at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church where she was a devoted member for 78 years. She volunteered with the Serving Our Savior Ladies Group, various committees, and as a Kindergarten teachers assistant at the school. She started every morning reading a bible devotion.
Born in Milwaukee, WI, May 20, 1936, to Harvey and Harriet Wolter, the family of six lived in a two-bedroom bungalow. Carol had vivid memories of the WWII blackouts, being quarantined for scarlet fever, neighborhood adventures with friends, and streetcar rides with her Mom and Grandmother to Gimbels for shopping and chocolate phosphates.
In 1948, the family moved to Eagle River, WI. There she lived in an isolated two-bedroom cabin on Snipe Lake with her parents, three brothers, grandparents, and uncle. The outhouse was out back. Teenage Carol often sat on a rock overlooking the lake brooding over how her parents took her from the big city to the backwoods of the north. She soon made friends and grew to love the beauty of the northwoods.
Carol met her husband, Donald Robert Hiller, in church choir. The next day he showed up at her father’s gas station, bought 50 cents of gas and brought her home to dinner. Don and Carol married on September 7, 1957, and raised three children, Donna, Mark, and Kristine. They were married 66 years before Don passed in 2024.
For 52 years, Carol and Don owned and operated Hiller’s Pine Haven Resort, dedicating themselves to the demanding work and the many joys of welcoming guests. They formed friendships that spanned generations. Those who knew the resort can imagine Carol, Don, Mark, and the many friends who have gone before her gathered on a heavenly beach, sharing stories and laughter.
Carol’s resilience defined her life. She survived breast cancer twice, underwent heart bypass surgery, experienced multiple heart attacks, and endured various broken bones. Yet nothing challenged her spirit more deeply than the loss of her son Mark in 2019 and her husband Don in 2024. In those difficult years, she found comfort in the support and companionship of friends and family.
Carol embraced many joys: traveling the world with her family—especially to Germany and anywhere warm—singing “Silent Night” in German, painting decorative art in oils and acrylics, gardening, savoring waffles with her faithful dog Charlie, watching hummingbirds, shopping for shoes, and, above all, loving her family.
Carol was preceded in death by her husband Don, son Mark, and brothers Bill and Tim. She is survived by daughters Donna and Kristine, her daughter-in-law Leslie Hiller, two grandchildren, Nicholas Hiller and Katrina (Eric) Rohe, great-grandson Oliver Rohe , brother Chuck Wolter and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
The family thanks the expert and loving care of Aspirus hospice. In lieu of flowers please consider memorials to Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, Howard Young Foundation, or Aspirus Health Foundation.
A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. on Thursday, August 20, 2026, at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, Eagle River. Visitation will be held one hour prior to service. Light refreshments after. Internment at St. Germain cemetery at 3 p.m.
Arrangements by Gaffney-Busha Funeral Home, Eagle River. Online condolences may be expressed at gaffney-busha.com.
