Adrianne Elaine "Ade" Hiser

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Adrianne Elaine Hiser (nee Volberding), age 97, a beloved daughter, sister, aunt, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend, who passed away on Monday July 7, 2025 after a 4-year long battle with dementia. Born on October 29, 1927, in Elmhurst, Illinois, to Leroy Volberding and Mary Volberding (nee Pfund).

Adrianne’s family eventually moved to Clarkston, Michigan where she grew up on Deer Lake in a home named the Bluebird Cottage. Her mother was a beautician, and her father was an engineer with General Motors.

As a young girl growing up on Deer Lake she learned to swim, fish, sail, ice skate and ice fish. She became an avid outdoors woman who loved camping, sailing, traveling and pretty much anything to do with the outdoors. She studied ballet, played the bass fiddle in college and hosted a nighttime radio program while attending college. She was also a main character for her father’s photography hobby.

Adrianne graduated from Clarkston High School then continued her academic studies at the University of Michigan where she earned a double major. She joined a sorority where she gained lifelong friends with many of her sisters. While at college she met Paul Hiser who was an engineering student. He and his fraternity brothers serenaded her & he gave her his frat pin. After college they got engaged, then married in a beautiful Christmas service. Paul got a job with General Electric and about every three years they moved to Marblehead, Massachusetts, then Mason, Ohio, then Ithaca, New York then Wayne, Pennsylvania. In 2001 she and Paul moved to a retirement community and became heavily engaged in all activities, including but not limited to Bocce Ball (she was always a captain), head of the landscape committee and many other programs.

The family moved to Wayne in 1965 and joined Wayne Presbyterian Church where they were members for 50 years. The entire family became involved in the church youth fellowship, choir, and all things Wayne Pres. During her children’s school years she played the violin, Paul played the saxophone, Hazen played the clarinet, Rondi played the organ, and Todd played the French Horn and all of us singing. Adrianne was involved in the church’s sewing circle, became a deacon and worked on the Christmas craft fair. She and Paul established a long-lasting friendship with a tight-knit group of friends at church. As her family grew, she was a Cub Scout Den Mother and Girl Scout leader, supporting her three children in all activities. She loved her grandchildren and attended many of their activities.

She and Paul were members of the Goshenhoppers and Peter Wentz Farmstead. Adrianne decided to take up Curling at the young age of 75+-. She was always a natural athlete and took to the ice like she was born to it. She made wonderful friendships at the Philadelphia Curling Club in Paoli, PA where she competed nationally and internationally for about 10 years. She was an avid woodcarver, painter, seamstress and weaver. She was a member of Woodmere Art Museum in the 70’s when she was part of a group who wove a huge wall hanging to commemorate the bicentennial which hung in a building behind Independence Hall in Philadelphia. At home she had a spinning wheel where she spun her own wool, and she had a huge loom where she wove beautiful tapestries and other works of art. She loved to watch and cheer on the Phillies and Eagles. She enjoyed listening to music, especially at the church and was an avid reader. She loved history and art.

Family vacations were the highlight of every year when we were younger. All through elementary, middle school and part of high school the family took extended vacations to visit cousins, aunts and uncles in Ohio and Michigan. Some of our favorite vacations were staying with grandparents on Deer Lake in Clarkston, Michigan and on our cousins farm in Erie, Michigan. Every summer the family loaded up the Pontiac station wagon and went tent camping, pulling our 26 foot long sailboat behind. We went to almost every national park in the United States and several in Canada. I believe we visited every state except Hawaii. Our parents instilled in us all a love of adventure, exploration and learning about other places. We were the original Griswold family, in our station wagon, traveling cross country, seeing the largest ball of twine or the largest frying pan on our way to “Wally World” (California's Disneyland), stopping in historical towns along the way to learn about whatever that town was famous for. We always volunteered to travel with Paoli 1 Boy Scouts on their trips to Algonquin National Park and the Grand Tetons. When Paul retired from GE he and Adrianne traveled all over the world, visiting family and friends wherever they went. She was adventurous and took a white-water rafting trip down the Youghiogheny River.

Adrianne and Paul loved to entertain. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on December 17, 1999. They were four months shy of celebrating their 70th anniversary when Paul passed away August 1, 2019. After Paul’s passing and during COVID she moved into a wonderful memory care community where she lived for four years until her passing.

Adrianne is survived by her daughter Rondi Lavery (Joseph), son Todd Hiser (Denise), and her grandchildren, Stephanie Ackroyd (Brad) and great grandson Cameron, Kelli Inglett (Ryan), Chris Hiser (Dana) and great granddaughter Violet, Andrew Hiser (Shannon) and great grandson Asher, Matthew Hiser (Kathryn), and Eric Hiser. She is also survived by her sister Mary Lee Wilkinson (Bob) and brother Bud Volberding (Fredi), several nieces and nephews. Her husband Paul passed on August 1, 2019 and her son Hazan Bradford Hiser passed on December 24, 2024.

A memorial service to celebrate her life will take place Wednesday July 16, 2025, at 11:00 am at Wayne Presbyterian Church, 125 E. Lancaster Ave, Wayne, PA in the sanctuary. Family and friends are invited to visit prior to the service to view the memorial video, photos and other memorabilia. A private family interment will be held in the church’s memorial garden prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Adrianne’s memory may be made to Wayne Presbyterian Church.