The Life Story of Fannie Mae Goodlow Hilliard

“Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her…” Proverbs 31:28 (EVS)

Fannie Mae (Goodlow) Hilliard was born in a small township of Saulsbury near Cotton Plant, Arkansas on September 8th, 1940 to Lorine Willie Agnes (Griffin) Goodlow and William Goodlow. They were sharecroppers.

Fannie walked to Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church to attend grade school every day with her siblings. She thought it was five miles, but it was actually two. She was given the nickname Pistol because she was a fast runner. She completed her studies and attended Marian Anderson High School in Brinkley, Arkansas graduate of 1959. She and her classmates were the last segregated class before the Brinkley schools integrated in 1960.

Fannie left Arkansas and moved to Chicago, Illinois to live with her sister Bobbie (Jackson) Purcell where she worked as a clerk at Spiegel’s’ catalogue outlet for about a year. Jodie “Joe Baby” Hilliard, Jr., one of her high school classmates, attended Okmulgee Culinary Arts School in Okmulgee, Oklahoma and they kept in touch with each other after graduation. Somehow Joe Baby convinced Fannie to marry him. He wanted to get married on Christmas Day but forgot they needed a license, so they had to wait until the 29th of December 1961 to wed in Ada, Oklahoma where he had gotten his first job after graduation.

They moved from Ada to Tulsa, Oklahoma and welcomed their children, Angela Louise and David Jerome in 1962 and 1964, respectively. Jodie was hired as a chef by Langston University, in Langston Oklahoma and Fannie got a job working for the campus Post Office.

In the summer of 1971, the family moved back to Cotton Plant, Arkansas. Fannie, with her mother’s encouragement, decided to attend Crowley Ridge Vocational Tech to become a nurse. She received her degree and became a Licensed Practical Nurse.

Fannie’s exemplary work ethic and dedication to her craft was evident over her 40-plus years working as a healthcare professional. She served patients and their families and formed friendships working for several hospitals over the years, her first job as a nurse was at Mercy Hospital in Brinkley.

Jodie moved to Peoria, Illinois to find work and the family followed in 1977. Fannie worked for the Methodist and Order of St. Francis Hospitals in Peoria giving care to their patients. They moved again, this time to Evanston, Illinois. She served patients for the Order of St. Francis Hospital, while working part-time for St. Francis Extended Care Nursing Home and Peer Services Substance Abuse Outpatient Clinic for the next seventeen years.

Upon her return to Oklahoma in 1997, she served another eleven years before retiring from the Order of St. Anthony Hospital in 2008. Fannie was not one to sit still. She went back to work at Mary Mahoney Community Health Center in Spencer, Oklahoma and Grace Living Center in Del City, Oklahoma until she finally decided to really retire.

When Jodie and Fannie moved back to Oklahoma in 1997, it has been her home ever since. They joined the Historical Calvery Baptist Church in 1998, and Fannie received faith in Christ Jesus as her Lord and Savior. After Jodie’s passing in 1999, she joined Restoration Community Church (RCC) in Midwest City, Oklahoma.

Fannie was a vibrant servant as a Mother of the church, active as an usher, and made herself available to serve whenever she could, wherever she was needed. One service, Bishop Taylor asked her to close the service in prayer and she said a quiet, short one. When she got home, she was so mad and embarrassed because she had never prayed out loud in front of people before. That request changed her and she became a mighty prayer warrior, unafraid to pray for anyone at any time.

Even though Jodie was a master chef, when it came to cooking, she loved blessing others with her famous “green stuff” dish and pound cakes. She also enjoyed shopping at thrift stores and finding good bargain and having garage sales just for conversations with the neighbors and others who liked bargains too. Fannie also loved relaxing on the porch doing search word puzzles and enjoying God’s creation. She and Jodie loved flowers, and she had a habit of picking a piece of one she admired to transplant it in her own garden.

She loved to dance or burst out singing a song in her opera voice whenever the mood hit her, but most of all, she loved her family, her extended family, Mahdu Dubey, Cyndi and Allandria Vice, the Mason sisters and family who adopted her as an honorary mother and friend, Michelle Williams, her driving buddy, as well as her devoted church family at Restoration Community Church. She had special connections with Mother Ruby Moore, Samella White, Angie Sanders, Lavonne Glover, Dora Hicks, pastors Apostle Robert and Stella Taylor, Sabrina Fults-Carlton and her husband Terry whom she had no problem telling anyone that he was her husband!

Mother Ruby introduced her to the Red Hat society, and she always had a blast being with her sister-friends! As she got more comfortable with the ladies, the more she enjoyed herself and their company. As a sassy Red Hat Sister, Fannie created some unique outfits for special occasions, she just allowed her creative juices to flow. One time, she needed some red boots for a cowboy rodeo event and couldn’t find any. So she found some red dye and painted a pair to finish her outfit. It was amazing to watch her “fashionista” persona shine!

Fannie poured her heart into all that she did. She was stubborn, spunky, and had no problem speaking her mind, but she was also very compassionate. Her heart would break as she prayed for homeless people whenever we passed them in driving, also asking God to bless and protect them.

She was not only Momma to Angie and David and GMama to Jarren, somehow she intertwined her love in the hearts of so many people, young and old over the course of her life. Whether they were David’s band friends hanging out in the basement, her lady friends from the church or work, the forgotten patients receiving meds to help get their lives together; whether it was dog-sitting Pearl and Jericho, cooking a whole box of pancake mix to feed her hungry nephews, learning how to paint with friends, jamming in the car with Michelle while listening to Boot Scoot Boogie, or showing up when she wasn’t expected to just come along side of whoever was on her heart and had a need; she lived her life the best that she knew how. So many lives that have been changed for good by this wonderful woman of God.

There are so many people who have been touched by her presence, family and friends in Arkansas, Illinois, Georgia, California, Texas, New Mexico, Michigan, and Oklahoma and other unknown places; it is really impossible to call out each and every one by name. She loved her family, poured her imperfect love and soul into our imperfect lives; as a daughter, baby sister, a loving aunt, wife, mother, and sister-friend. Know that your gift of friendship to her was respected, appreciated, and never taken for granted.

Words cannot describe the importance of her presence in our lives. After a brave battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), our beautiful matriarch left this earth on the night of August 2nd, 2026 in her sleep. She was prayed for by so many friends over the years and was surrounded by her children when she joined her ancestors who went before her; grandparents, Sally Wheeler Griffin and Samuel Griffin, parents William and Lorine, and hubby of 38 years Jodie “Joe Baby” Hilliard, Jr., her big brother Leo Clark, Sr., and sister Bobbie (Jackson) Purcell and her niece Margaret (Clark) Marshall and nephew Cleondris LeWayne Clark, Aunts Lurdene Griffin Woods and Darniece Griffin, Uncles Adell and Benjamin Griffin, and cousin-in-love Cynthia Griffin.

Fannie leaves her precious memories for her “mini-me” daughter, Angela and son-in-love Mark Fleming, her totally devoted son, David, her “bestie” grandson Jarren Allen Carter, Mahdu Dubey, chosen daughter and granddaughter Cyndi and Allandria Vice, San Antonio, TX; her brother Therman (Dorothy) Goodlow, Sr., Bellwood, IL; sister-in-love Gwendolyn (Ryland) Clark, Little Rock, AR; Uncle/Brother Samuel Griffin, Jr., of Maywood, IL; cousins Reginald Griffin, Des Plaines, IL and Michael Stephon Griffin, Broadview, IL; her nephew/baby brother Eugene (Jennie) Jackson, Little Rock, AR; nephews and nieces: Claudine (James) Arrington, Hope, AR and Erwin “Buck” (Marsha) Davis, Sr., of Little Elm, TX; Leo (DeWanda) Clark, Jr., of Little Rock, AR; Renina Goodlow of Hazel Crest, IL and Therman “Timmy” Goodlow, Jr., Bellwood, IL; Sharon (Marcos) Archilla, Homewood IL and Theodore “Ted” (Veronica) Purcell, Jr., South Holland, IL; Katrina (Tony) Ontiveros, Bloomington, IL; and Willie Vondell (Stephanie) Clark, Glendale Heights, IL; all of their children and grandchildren, the rest of Griffin family gang and friends.

A Celebration of Life will be held on the 9th and 10th of October, 2026, detailed information will be shared at a later date.

We want to thank everyone who cared for Mom, SSM Hospice team: Abena, Jennifer, Stephanie, Stacie, Jess, Amy, and Valree; and for Rhonda, Daisy, Karen, Clarence and Raynette. For all who came to visit her even when you could not understand her conversations, we are forever thankful!