Austin Hilliard, 16, of Beaumont died July 30, 2010, at Memorial Hermann Baptist Beaumont Hospital. 

A native and lifelong resident of Beaumont, Austin was born January 12, 1994, to Shanoah Lyn Boykin and Joseph Kyle Hilliard.  Austin was an 11th grade student at Westbrook High School. 

Austin began making an impact on this world the day he was born. His bravery and courage inspired everyone that knew him or even just knew about him and his incredible journey. In spite of his health problems, Austin was determined to be a normal kid. When he was little, he participated in soccer, baseball, basketball, and karate. He put everything he had into being the best at everything he tried. Although there were limitations, he never stopped trying.

Austin loved to perform. He would not hesitate to show a room full of people his new karate routine or recite something he had memorized, or even something he just made up. Everyone would clap and cheer when he would finish and he would smile the biggest smile you’ve ever seen. He smiled because he was proud of himself, but mostly because he had made us smile.

He wanted everyone to be happy. Austin loved his family. He loved getting together and never missed an opportunity to do so. He was very protective of his brother and sister. If you took all three of them somewhere, Austin had a hard time relaxing and playing because he was so concerned about where they were. He was truly a big brother long before he was big himself.

Austin loved God. He went to church because he wanted to. He believed with all his heart that the Lord was going to take care of him. He spoke to groups of adults as well as groups of teenagers about his experience and his faith. He knew that God had given him a gift and he wanted to share it.

Austin loved all kinds of music, everything from Christian rock to the Beetles. He loved playing his guitars and learning new “riffs”. Many times if you called to talk to him he would say he had been “shredding” his guitar. He was very proud of the calluses on his fingers from hours and hours of “shredding”.

Recently, Austin got his driving license and was so proud that he took a picture with it and sent it to all our phones. He loved the truck his mom and dad gave him and spent a few hours in the driveway installing a new stereo. Most of us would have given up on the one hundred pages of direction, but not Austin. He was determined and he did it just like everything else in his life. If he had an idea he would talk about it, make a plan, and then make it happen. Austin truly was an amazing young man. In high school, Austin was earning college credits and planned to attend the University of Texas for his bachelor’s in Organic Chemistry, and Baylor College of Medicine for his doctorate. He wanted to be a Cardiologist and specialize in Electrophysiology. He had detailed plans, and in his mind, there were no limitations. He told us he was going to “live the dream” and be a “Kabillionaire”. Our family has faith that Austin is doing just that …. He is with God, rich, and living the dream. He will live in our hearts forever.

Survivors include his parents, Joseph and Shanoah Hilliard of Beaumont; brother, Tanner Joseph Hilliard of Beaumont; sister, Kylie Noelle Hilliard of Beaumont; grandparents, Phil and Thelma Hilliard of Beaumont, Tonya LaFrance of Seabrook, and Larry Boykin of Shreveport; great grandparent, Lyn Clawson of Beaumont; and aunts and uncles, Kristi Hilliard, Kitty Nicholson, Rob Hilliard, Savannah Slater, Wilma Edwards, and Woody and Janet Woodruff.

His funeral service will be 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, August 3, 2010, at Trinity United Methodist Church, 3430 Harrison, Beaumont.  Burial will follow at Magnolia Cemetery under the direction of Broussard’s, 1605 N. Major Drive, Beaumont.  A gathering of his family and friends will be Monday, August 2, 2010, from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., in Vivian Hall at the church.

Memorial contributions may be made to Austin Hilliard Memorial Fund, C/O Neches Federal Credit Union, Account# 37945-1, 1955 Dowlen Rd., Beaumont, Texas 77706.

Our family would like to thank the hundreds of thousands of people in Prayers Around The World for Austin Hilliard. We would also like to thank the hundreds of people locally and the members of Trinity United Methodist Church for their love and support.