Mourn Leslie Hills: CO Remembered As 'A Woman of Valor'

Mourn Leslie Hills
CO Remembered As 'A Woman of Valor'

By REUVEN BLAU

When Leslie Hills would begin her overnight tour on Rikers Island, she often brought food for her colleagues and always made it home in the morning to see her two children off to school.

LESLIE HILLS: Giving nature recalled. "She really made a lasting impression on them," Mayor Bloomberg told the audience of hundreds of her family members, friends, and colleagues gathered to pay their last respects in St. Albans, Queens May 23. "She was one of those wise people who understands that the way to get the most out of life is to give to others."

'Setting Place in Heaven'

Ms. Hills, who was a Correction Officer since 1989, died May 16 at age 46 after suffering an apparent heart attack at the end of her overnight tour at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center.

"I don't know how she got it through the magnetometers," said Norman Seabrook, the president of the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, referring to her large metal trays of food. "I'm a little jealous because I didn't get any. Be that as it may, she's preparing a place in heaven for all of us."

The Chief-Leader/Michael O'Kane CHILDREN CAME FIRST: Leslie Hills's daughter, Shaquiana, and granddaughter, Ashanti, leave Queens funeral home following her service May 24. Ms. Hills was remembered as a Correction Officer who chose to work the overnight shift so she could be home in time to help her two children get to school and then greet them when they returned that afternoon. During the service, her children, Shaquiana and Dayquan, as well as her granddaughter, Ashanti, huddled together facing a white floral arrangement adorned with Ms. Hills's badge number, 10819. Rows of neatly dressed officers looked on and listened attentively in the chapel and in a room upstairs via a videoconference, while others stood outside the J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home.

"Leslie's life was cut way too short, but her memories and spirit will live forever," Shaquiana said, clutching a tissue in her hand. "She has touched so many lives and will sorely be missed."

Commissioner's Tribute

In describing Ms. Hills, Correction Commissioner Martin F. Horn cited the 22-verse poem with which King Solomon concludes the book of Proverbs. "Who is a woman of valor?" the poem begins. "She arises while it is still night, and gives food to her household." After reading several other verses describing an energetic, righteous and capable woman, he said, "Leslie was indeed a woman of valor. She came to work every day and she loved life."

Mr. Bloomberg noted that Ms. Hills chose to work the overnight shift in order to be with her children before school as they grew up and to see them come back home after classes.

Ashanti, her young granddaughter, who was dressed in a fluffy white dress, fell asleep as the service began. "You'll have to explain to her who her grandmother was someday," Mr. Bloomberg said. "She was somebody people loved and respected."

Addressing her children, Shaquiana and Dayquan, he added, "I know it's tough to put a smile on your face, but when the tears have gone the memories don't fade."

CO Deborah Cook, a colleague of Ms. Hills for 10 years, remembered her culinary prowess on her way into the funeral home before the service began. "She was a great cook," she recalled, noting that her macaroni and cheese and banana pudding were legendary. "She fed everyone."

Mr. Bloomberg touched on Ms. Hills's famous cooking skills as well. "She would never let anyone go hungry," he remarked. "In Leslie's kitchen, Thanksgiving came every weekend of the year."