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Promoted to Glory
Commissioner Marion Westcott
Commissioner Marion Westcott, 92, was promoted to Glory on Easter Sunday, April 16, 2006, from the Ponds at Punalu’u Nursing Care Center in Hauula, Hawaii.
Marion Layman was born to Canadian officer parents, Arch and Edith Layman, on July 16, 1913 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. She was 15 when the family was transferred from Canada to Honolulu. After Marion graduated from high school, they moved to San Francisco, where she attended Dietz Business College. Hearing the call to officership, she entered the training college and was commissioned with the Do and Dare Session in July 1934.
After several corps appointments she married Captain Kenneth Anderson. They served in Brazil for a short time, and then returned to the U.S. where they held corps appointments in Inglewood, California; Tucson, Arizona; and Glendale, California. The Andersons served as divisional youth leaders in the Oregon and Southern Idaho and the Northwest divisions. In 1952 they returned to corps ministry as corps officers in Sacramento, Long Beach and Oakland, California.
In 1967 Brigadier Kenneth Anderson was appointed divisional commander in the Intermountain Division, with Brigadier Marion the director of women’s services. Following her husband’s promotion to Glory in March 1968, Marion continued to serve as divisional commander for several months.
Marion’s next several appointments were at territorial headquarters: assistant field secretary, assistant in the Personnel and Records department, and special assignment to the Chief Secretary’s office. She was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1974. Her last appointment was secretary for Evangelism and Adult Programs.
Lt. Colonel Marion Anderson retired in 1977 and moved to London, England, where she married Commissioner Herbert Westcott in 1978. Together, until the commissioner was promoted to Glory in 1996, they were active soldiers at the Upper Norwood Corps.
Commissioner Marion Westcott is survived by her daughter, Laurie Namohala of Hawaii; a foster son, Dr. Ken Law of San Francisco; and three granddaughters, two grandsons and two great-grandchildren. A graveside service was held at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, with Major Daniel Abella officiating.
Opal Hillman
Opal Frances Hillman, 89, was promoted to Glory on April 8, 2006. She was born January 21, 1917, in Los Angeles, the 11th and youngest child of George and Elizabeth Grace. Opal was raised in The Salvation Army and attended the College for Officer Training in San Francisco.
Opal met and married Joseph D. Kenney (Bud), a deputy sheriff in Santa Cruz, Calif. They had two children. Opal was the women’s matron at the Santa Cruz county jail until her husband retired. She was then employed by Santa Cruz County as a social worker for the next eight years.
Following the death of her husband in 1951, Opal married Albert Leroy Hillman in 1952, and together they had a daughter, Deborah Sue Hillman. Her husband’s profession as a thoroughbred horse trainer took them all over California. They settled in Napa where Opal earned a nursing certificate as a geriatric nursing assistant, working at the Yountville Veterans Home until she retired in 1976.
After her retirement Opal became active in the Native Daughters of the Golden West and pursued her hobby in genealogy. She and her husband eventually moved to southern California to be with their daughter and her family.
After Albert died in 1989, Opal once again became active in The Salvation Army and remained so as long as she was able. She played in the Pasadena Tabernacle corps band for many years and was Home League secretary well into her 80s.
Opal is survived by daughters Keni Gallucci (Opal Frances) of Austin, Texas, and Deborah Winick of Claremont, Calif., five grandchildren, and seven great- grandchildren. A memorial service was held at Pasadena Tabernacle Corps, with Captain Edward Hill and Major Edward Covert officiating
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