Lydia Anne Crosman Hiltner

Hiltner—Lydia Anne Crosman Hiltner, 90, on January 14, 2021, peacefully in her sleep with family singing songs to her and holding her hand, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Anne was born to Aquila Hurford Crosman and Alice Forsythe Crosman in Needham, Mass., during the early years of the Depression.

Anne, a Friend since birth, was a student at Westtown School near West Chester, Pa., from 1944 to 1948. She attended Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, and graduated from Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in education.

Anne’s passion for children’s education formed the foundation of her long career, which began in 1953 at Buckingham Friends School in Lahaska, Pa., and was followed by posts in Indianapolis, Ind., at Valley Mills Elementary and Lynwood Elementary. After moving to Pittsburgh, Pa., she taught at McMurray Elementary School. Anne tutored disabled veterans at the Small World Learning Center in Pittsburgh until she retired.

While teaching, Anne raised four children and obtained a master’s degree in education from Butler University in Indianapolis in 1968. She was a First-day school teacher at West Newton Meeting in Indianapolis, and with her children assisting, could be found volunteering at Indiana Repertory Theater and at Clowes Memorial Hall, a theatre located on the campus of Butler University.

In 1975, following Anne’s second marriage to Robert Hiltner, the family, which now had eight children between the ages of 13 and 19, relocated from Indianapolis to Pittsburgh. Happy times included family reunions at the Crosman cabin in South China, Maine, and, after retirement, cruises to Alaska and Hawaii. Singing alto for Char Val Singers as well as performing with the Pittsburgh Savoyards (a Gilbert and Sullivan troupe) continued her love for theater and the arts. Her favorite dance was the polka.

Anne volunteered at St. Clair Hospital in Pittsburgh and at Bethel Park Community Center in Bethel Park, Pa.

Anne was predeceased by her first husband, Paul O. Coppock; second husband, Robert J. Hiltner; a brother, Hurford Crosman; and two sisters, Cophine Crosman and Mary Hiltner. She is survived by four children, James Coppock (Linda), Dianne Langa, Esther Shaw (Brad), and Gayle Hinebaugh (Tim); four stepchildren, Sharon Kruger (Joe), Allison Hiltner (Jonathan Maas), Steve Hiltner (Anne), and Brian Hiltner; eleven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.