Joanne (Mayfield) Hillman was born and raised in southwestern Kansas, her parents hard-working pioneers of the dust bowl country. Raised on an isolated farm and her only sibling a much older brother, she was a lonely child. Books became her best friends, and she often acted out the stories she read. She once tried to raise a dead rabbit to life by breathing into its mouth like the Prophet Elisha. (It didn’t work, but neither did she get sick–surely a miracle!)
Later, her family moved to the Oklahoma Panhandle, where she became active in a church youth group and frequently helped the others with their English homework. Her helpfulness almost got her expelled when she wrote a historical short story for one of her Christian friends and signed his name. They were both punished, but certain of the teacher’s angry words made Joanne realize she might have a talent for writing. However, it would be many years before she tried to develop the gift.
She married shortly after high-school and became the mother of two incredible children, Michael and Crystal. Years later, she and her husband added another fine son, Robert. As families do, hers has increased exponentially. Nineteen children now call her GeeGee.
For many years, she and her husband Tommy Hillman owned and operated a marine supply store near San Leon, Texas, catering to commercial fishermen. After his death, she moved to New Waverly, Texas, where she lived and worked at Hidden Manna Christian Retreat Center under the direction of Dr. Paul Looney, Christian psychiatrist. She has been deeply privileged to help him and his mother, Louise Looney, edit a number of their books.
In 2007, she moved to The Woodlands, Texas, where she found a wonderful home at The Crossing, a down-to-earth nondenominational church. A compulsive volunteer, she teaches a Sunday morning Bible class, leads two writers’ groups, and plays the piano for a nursing home ministry.
Today, she and her daughter Crystal live in a quiet, tree-lined neighborhood and enjoy many mutual friends and activities. They share an adoring little dog, a hyperactive cat, and a love of jigsaw puzzles. They often make room for other friends and refer to their house as the “mustard tree,” because like the plant that grew from a tiny seed in Luke 13:9, it offers shelter to so many others.