Hilda Cornelia (Lull) Hildreth, 104, of Hollis, died Thursday afternoon, May 24, 2012, at her home in the company of her large family and her devoted white cat.

She was born on August 12, 1907, in Goffstown, NH, daughter of the late Arthur Chase Lull and Hattie Louise (Follansbee) Lull. In 1918, her family moved from their small family farm in New Boston to Hollis by horse and wagon, trailing the family cow behind. Her father established Lull Farm, which her brother Louis continued to run until the 1970’s.

She graduated from Hollis High School in 1924 in a class of five students and then attended Keene Normal School. She worked as a telephone switchboard operator for the Hollis Telephone Company and was an assistant to the Hollis Town Clerk.

Hilda was the widow of Henry H. Hildreth whom she married on May 17, 1939. They shared 48 years of marriage until his death in 1987. Together, they frequently took walks in the woods, and in retirement, enjoyed taking road trips to beautiful places around New England and Nova Scotia. Hilda had many interests including the outdoors, gardening, photography, animals, and local history.

Hilda was a founding member of both the Hollis Historical Society and the Colonial Garden Club of Hollis. She was a 90-year member of the Hollis Congregational Church and a 50+ year member the Hollis Woman’s Club and the Grange and belonged to the Anna Keyes Powers Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She volunteered widely in town, including spearheading a roadside litter clean-up campaign in the 1960’s, leading hikes for school groups, and serving as an airplane spotter during World War II.

As a member of the Hollis Historical Society, she assisted in the research and writing of the Hollis history book, “Where The Past Has Been Preserved”. Hilda contributed to the NH Humanities Council project “Number Please-New Hampshire Telephone Operators in the Pre-Dial Era.” She contributed to Marcia Beckett’s 2010 book about Hilda’s sister Marion, their family, and Lull Farm: “One to Another: Preserving Our Stories and Our Land.” She was an unofficial town historian with great research abilities and enjoyed providing information, photographs and resources to anyone who asked.

Hilda was an amateur photographer and could often be seen on the side roads of Hollis, taking photographs of trees, pastures, and skies. For many years, she exhibited her photographs at Beaver Brook’s Fall Festival and held slide show gatherings for her family. She felt that Hollis was a place of great beauty and history, and she enjoyed being part of her small town community.

In 2008, she was presented with the Boston Post Cane for being the oldest resident of Hollis and had a portion of the sidewalk near her house named “Hilda’s Walk” in her honor. At the event, she said, “I never dreamed I’d live this long” and did a little jig in front of the crowd.

To many, Hilda was an inspiration for growing old with grace and humor, known for her bright blue eyes, her strength, and her delightful giggle. She loved to get outside every day, believing in the health benefits of ‘fresh air’ and exercise. She raked her lawn, collected kindling, tended her gardens, and swept her porch until her final days. Her family and friends will miss her and know how blessed they were to have her in their lives for so long.

In addition to her parents and her husband, she was predeceased by her brother, Louis Lull, her sister, E. Marion Lull Howe, and her nephew, Stephen Howe.

Surviving members of her family include her daughter, Sue Birch; four grandchildren, Anna Birch and her husband Christopher Volpe, Joseph (Tom) Birch, Sarah Burns and her husband, Jonathan Burns, and Samuel Quincy Birch, all of Hollis; nine great-grandchildren, Max Volpe, Amanda, Joseph, Jarrell and Jackson Birch, and Henry, Charlotte, Martin, and Isaac Burns; and her niece, Sharon Howe.

SERVICES: There are no calling hours. A memorial service will be held in the Congregational Church of Hollis, 3 Monument Square, Tuesday afternoon, June 5th at 2:00 PM. The Rev. Larry W. Smith will officiate. Friends are invited to attend. Interment prayers and burial will take place in East Cemetery at the convenience of the family. Those planning an expression of sympathy are invited to consider a memorial donation to the Hollis Historical Society, PO Box 754, Hollis NH 03049 or the Hollis Fireman’s Association, PO Box 38, Hollis NH 03049. To leave an online condolence, go to www.RememberingHilda.wordpress.com.