Jana Kay Hillman DePrey unexpectedly kicked the bucket while at home on March 4, 2022. She used that bucket well in her 69 years and lived a VERY full life. Jana, not Jane, was born in Plymouth, Indiana, on April 27, 1952, to parents with a cocktail in one hand and a cigarette in the other. She spent her childhood playing with friends in the cemetery across the street (Lucy Chapman’s grave was “home base”) and the Hillman house was a hot spot with the neighborhood’s first color TV. She graduated from Plymouth High School, where she was the lead vocalist in numerous musicals and won many vocalist competitions. After graduation, Plymouth was in the rearview mirror. After attending Ancilla College, where she was a founding member of the AC-Sparkplugs cheerleaders, she went to Indiana University and performed in the Singing Hoosiers. Her beautiful soprano graced numerous weddings and, ironically, funerals. Over the course of her life, she reached her personal goal of visiting all 50 states by virtue of her mantra, “pedal to the metal.” While a wanderer, she never knew a stranger and was “the hostess with the mostest.” She kept a beautiful yard despite mishaps with axe handles, shovels, and trowels. Her doors were always open (except when they weren’t: bath time, nap time, or “I’ve had enough of you” time). Breaking her vow never to marry, she fell in love with the luckiest man in Fort Wayne, Ed, with whom she endured 39 years of wedded bliss thanks to his eternal patience. Luckily for Ed, Jana had the foresight to prepare multiple options for his second wife. She raised two outstanding children, Allison and Michael. She was proud of their success, and even prouder of the families they’ve created. She loved her four grandsons and granddaughter more than anything. We know her first act on passing was to gather her granddaughter into her arms. Jana is survived by the love of her life, Edward Charles DePrey; her children, Allison Jean (David) Singleton and Michael Edward (Brittany) DePrey; her grandsons, Jacob Michael DePrey, Logan Asher DePrey, Colton Brooks DePrey, and Edward Arthur Singleton; her brother, Gary Knep (Julie) Hillman; numerous nieces and nephews; and her dear friends, “The Sisterhood”; and many more good friends. Jana was preceded in death by her parents, Merlin Francis Hillman and Joanna Jean Knepper Hillman; her brother, Michael “Mikey” Merlin Hillman; and her beloved granddaughter, Madison Elizabeth DePrey.
Memorial Service for Jana will take place on Tuesday, March 8th at 7pm, with calling 2 hours prior all at FairHaven Funeral Home and Cremation Services (6557 N Clinton St)
In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to the Ronald McDonald House.