CHENEY – A larger-thanlife personality was lost with the passing of John Hillman on March 11.

The Cheney native – known through the region as an auctioneer and real estate broker – died after a long battle with cancer.

Hillman was an auctioneer for 34 years, and spent most of that time working hand in hand with Roger Zerener and Fred Foley.

Zerener was the long-time owner of Farm and Home Realty, which just recently merged with Gene Francis and Associates. Like Hillman, Zerener grew up in Cheney. While they were familiar with each other, they did not know each other well as youths.

Their relationship really began when Hillman and his wife, Debbie, moved to Cheney from Copeland, Kan., located about 40 miles southwest of Dodge City. Zerener had already founded Farm and Home Realty, while Hillman had been to auctioneer school and had been helping an auction company in southwest Kansas. Hillman was dealing with cancer back then, a battle he won.

“I thought Farm and Home Realty would benefit from having an auction business. We thought it would make business sense for both of us,” Zerener said.

He was only interested in real estate auctions, so they created a structure that worked for more than three decades. Real estate and land auctions were handled through the realty company, and John created Hillman Auction Service to handle personal property auctions. Hillman became an associate and later an associate broker with Farm and Home.

The auction business took off for both entities, in large part because of who Hillman was.

“He had this big personality, but he could make fun of himself,” Zerener said. “He had an ego but a sense of humor.”

Zerener said he loved to tease Hillman about it. It worked, because they were friends as well as business partners.

“I’d say, ‘Boy, Hillman, it’s hard to be humble,’” he said.

“There wasn’t a time when John and I didn’t trust each other.”

Zerener said that Hillman was fascinated with auctioneering while in grade school and high school. He was able to spend decades doing his dream job, just as Zerener loved real estate.

“We’re so lucky to be able to do what we loved to do,” he said.

The auction business and the business relationship worked because Hillman loved people.

“Everybody thought he was their best friend, and in a way he was. It was his personality that came through,” Zerener said.

“He was the best people person and at negotiating that I’ve seen.”

Fred Foley’s relationship with John is just as long as Zerener’s. Foley was a longtime auctioneer with John, working personal property and real estate auctions.

“I had my own little auction company, doing auctions around Cheney,” Foley said. “John moved back from Copeland and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got this auction near Cheney and would you help me?’

“It was a few hay trailers and tables full of items. We just hit it off. It was just a working relationship made in heaven.”

Foley set aside his business to partner with Hillman.

“Dude, I was fine with that. I always felt like part of the company. I’d call him ‘Boss,’ and it would make him mad. He’d say, ‘You’re part of the company.”

Foley is nine years older than Hillman. Foley went to college and then the military. When he returned to Cheney, Hillman was living in Copeland.

But they knew many of the same people, and that provided a solid foundation for their relationship. That relationship was important for the auction business, and played a big role in their success.

“I think people trusted us. When we told them it would be a certain way, that’s what it was,” Foley said. “We just had that good public relationship.

We met the public well and treated them with respect.”

As Hillman’s second fight with cancer became serious, Foley took over the auction business in February 2023. They were getting ready for their big farm consignment auction that always kicks off the auction season. Foley expected them to do one last auction together, but Hillman insisted that Foley take over with that auction.

“John told me about his health issue and I was kind of devastated, to put it mildly. I said, ‘It’s been a good run and I love you like a brother,’” Foley said.

Hillman told Foley and the rest of their crew of about a dozen people that he wanted them to carry on. They are doing what Hillman wanted, but Foley said it feels like they are missing their figurehead.

“John wants us to go on, and everybody said, ‘Let’s do it for John.’” Hillman stayed on with Fred Foley Auctions and the newly-merged Gene Francis & Associates as an auctioneer. Foley said Hillman’s influence remains strong.

“He’s going to be with us in spirit. He trained us well, I’ll tell you what,” he said.

Zerener shared that Hillman loved to give handshakes with children.

He’d grab their hand and shake in a way that shook their arm all the way to their shoulders. Despite his large physical presence, kids loved Hillman.

“I swear he was going to snap their arms off, and they’d laugh. I never saw one who didn’t laugh and come back for more,” Zerener said.

Zerener agreed with Foley that Hillman’s presence will be felt for a long time to come. He took a moment to respond when asked what he’ll miss most about his friend and partner.

“I will miss seeing him at my desk, coming in full force, bull in a China shop, saying, ‘Hello, Roger,’ and talking with me,” Zerener said. “I’ll miss him so much. I’ll miss him coming in the door.”

Hillman is survived by his wife, Debbie; children, Nic and Shelby; two brothers and four sisters; and three grandchildren.