Description
The Noelle Bobbe George Collection consists of memorabilia collected by San Jose State College alumna Bobbe George (1950)
and her mother, Stella Onah Bunch-Hillis (1913). The collection includes normal school documents, teaching certificates, class
reunion literature, three-dimensional artifacts, textiles, and a family chronology. This collection is arranged into two series:
Series I: Stella Onah Bunch Memorabilia, 1913-1920; Series II: Noelle Bobbe George (Hillis) Memorabilia, 1864-2005.
Background
Stella Onah Bunch-Hillis was born in 1892 in Paso Robles, California. She graduated from San Jose State Normal School in 1913
and soon entered the teaching profession. She worked as a grammar school teacher in Paso Robles from 1914 through 1917. She
married Harry Hillis and spent more than 30 years making a home in Buttonwillow, California. While raising her children, Wilmar
Hillis and Noelle Roberta Hillis (Bobbe), she ran the Kern County Library branch. In 1952, Harry Hillis retired from the General
Petroleum Company and the couple moved to Willow Glen in San Jose. Harry Hillis died in 1968. Stella Hillis retired from librarianship
at age 70, but she continued to volunteer at the Union School District, where her daughter Bobbe Hillis worked for a short
period of time. Stella Hillis died on August 17, 1994 and was survived by her two children, five grand-children, and nine
great-grand children. The Stella B. Hillis Scholarship in Library Science was established at San Jose State University, and
the Visiting Nurse Association Hospice Memorial Fund was established in her name as well.
Extent
1.0 Linear foot,
1 Box
Restrictions
Copyright has been assigned to the San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission
to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the SJSU Special Collections & Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include
or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Copyright restrictions also apply
to digital reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Availability
The collection is open for research.