RICHFIELD, Utah — The body of Sevier County Sgt. Adrian Hillin was carried off of a plane at Salt Lake City International Airport on Monday afternoon and driven in procession to Richfield in central Utah early Monday evening.
“We are here with our deputies, with his crew, with all those guys, one of those chances to show our respect for him and what he meant to us," said Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis while waiting to proceed with the procession from the airport.
Sheriff Curtis worked with Sgt. Hillin as a patrolman years ago. “To get to know Adrian was a blessing for all of us.”
Sgt. Hillin comes from a law enforcement family. His father Jim was a Utah Highway Patrol trooper.
“It was really a natural thing for him to fall into law enforcement to really go out and make a difference in people's lives," said Sheriff Curtis. “This is one of those where everybody knows each other in our community, we’re small enough where everybody knows each other and when you have this, something like this happens, it impacts every one of us.”
As the procession made its way through small towns in central Utah; community members and first responders lined the streets to show their respect and honor the Hillin family.
“He had a passion for his community, he had a passion for his family, he just loved everybody and everybody loved him," said Stefani Hillin, Adrian's sister-in-law. “Today’s overwhelming, with love and gratitude for all these people that came, it’s obvious that he was loved by many.”
Sgt. Hillin died late last week in a car accident in Alabama. He, his wife Kenzie and youngest son Gunner had been visiting Adrian's son Riley for a ceremony in Georgia. Riley had graduated from Army Infantry Training.
“It’s hard to be here for the reality of the fact that he’s going to be brought home for the last time," said Stefani Hillin at the airport. “His kids and his wife and his family were everything to him and to be able to go back to Georgia and support his son, that was a big thing.”
Sgt. Hillin leaves behind three children and a community whom he had served in uniform for more than two decades. Kenzie is currently hospitalized from the crash and according to the family, remains in a coma.
A gofundme account has been established if you'd like to help the family out.
Funeral services for Adrian will be held Saturday, February 26, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. in the Annabella Ward Chapel. Friends may call at the Magleby Mortuary in Richfield Friday evening from 6-8 p.m. or Saturday morning at the ward chapel in Annabella from 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. Burial will be in the Annabella Cemetery. Live streaming of the services and online guestbook can be found at www.maglebymorturay.com under Adrian’s obituary.
