Leona Johnson Hilliard

It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of Leona Johnson Hilliard at her home in Redlands, Ca. on Monday, January 26, 2026 at the age of only 62.

Leona was born on December 14, 1963, and was soon adopted by Earle and Doris Johnson, who made their home in Redlands, where she lived all of her life. She went to Redlands public schools and was identified early on as a Mentally Gifted Minor. She was blessed with a beautiful operatic singing voice and was a New York Metropolitan Opera Audition winner. She was a two-time Young Artist Audition winner at the Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival, where she met her future husband, Charles Hilliard, who was the stage manager of the Redlands Bowl at the time. After that, she performed in many operatic productions in different venues throughout the Inland Empire.

She then went back to school and received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Riverside, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and was elected into Phi Beta Kappa. After this, she was awarded a full University scholarship and entered the Ph. D. program in Psychology at the same institution.

She was very active in the music programs at both the Brookside Free Methodist Church and the First Congregational Church in Redlands, as well as being very active in various church programs and activities.

She is survived by her husband, Dr. Charles S. Hilliard of Redlands, who will sorely miss her.

She is in Heaven now, singing in God’s Heavenly Choir!