Services for Retired Sheriff William Earl Hilton will be held at 12:00 p.m., Friday, March 27, 2026, at Calvary Baptist Church with Bishop Anthony Mangun, Reverend Jimmy Koonce, and The Reverend Dr. James S. Hardison, Sr. officiating. Burial will be in Fellowship Cemetery, Hineston, under the direction of Hixson Brothers, Alexandria.

The family requests that visitation be held on Thursday, March 26, 2026, at Calvary Baptist from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. and on Friday from 9:00 a.m. until the time of services.

Mr. Hilton, 80, of Hineston, passed from this life on Monday, March 23, 2026, at Rapides Regional Medical Center, the result of a horrible tragedy.

Sheriff William Earl Hilton served in law enforcement for 50 years, 24 as sheriff.  He was a member of Homewood Baptist Church.

Sheriff Hilton decided as a teenager that one day he would be sheriff because he admired Sheriff Kelly and his dad who was a constable. He spent many days running the halls of the courthouse. Growing up, he was his Dad’s constant companion, from buying horses to serving papers for the Sheriff’s Department. He learned the people and remembered everyone that he met. He had a gift about remembering people and their entire families.

After becoming Sheriff, his total focus was on improving the department. When he started working, the cars were old and had slick tires and no equipment. Pay was low, he started at $325 a month, which was less than his job with the City of Alexandria. He always strived to improve equipment and benefits for his employees. He brought a lot of innovation to the department. Sheriff Hilton founded the Louisiana Youth Academy, Juvenile Boot Camp. He increased parish prison capacity from 278 to almost 1000. He opened additional sub-stations and reduced response time. He established a training academy for corrections officers. He placed a full-time deputy in every school in Rapides Parish to keep our children safe. Using federal grant funds, he obtained a Mobile Command Center and a SWAT Team Response Vehicle.

Sheriff Hilton was very active in civic affairs and the community. He has served on the Region VI Mental Health Advisory Council and the executive board of the Boy Scouts of America Attakappas Council. He has been on the Board of Advisors for Renaissance Home for Youth. He is a past chairman of the Board of Directors for the Food Bank of Central Louisiana; a member of the Advisory Board of the Salvation Army; a member of the Central Louisiana Coalition to Prevent Homelessness; and he has chaired fundraising events for the Heart Fund, the March of Dimes, and the Red Cross.

He treated everyone he met with the same respect from the people catering food at an event to meeting President Bill Clinton. He came from humble beginnings and never forgot that. He would actually get Christmas cards from inmates that he had put in prison because they knew he had treated them fairly.

Sheriff Hilton is a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Mason, Shreveport Consistory, and a member of Oliver Masonic Lodge #84 and Gardner Lodge #482. He is a member of the El Karubah Shrine Temple, and past president of the Cenla Shrine Club.

He is past president of the Rapides Cattleman’s Association and a charter member of the Central Louisiana High School Rodeo Association.

A member of the National Rifle Association, He was an avid sportsman, both hunting and fishing. He is a member of many sportsmen organizations and enjoyed spending time with his son and grandson at his camp at Flatwoods.

He is preceded in death by his parents, James Thomas “Tom” and Modena “Frankie” Hilton; brother, Herbert Hilton; sister, Verna Hilton Fussell.

Sheriff Hilton has been married for 61 years to Billie Faye Gunter Hilton. They have two grown children, Shane Hilton and wife, Laurie and Kristy Dunn and husband, Bubba; one grandchild, Slade Hilton; step grandson, Jaxson Filler.

Pallbearers will be Tommy Bebee, Robert Parker, Keith Parker, Mark Wood, Trey Gist, and Chad Dyess. Honorary Pallbearers will be James “Jam” Downs, Charles Ray Nash, Rocky Willson, Clayton Brister, and Nubbin Melder.

He leaves behind a legacy of integrity, compassion, and unwavering commitment to the people he served.