lit a candle 7h ago96 years old. I keep thinking about that number. My mother used to talk about the missionary ladies from Coshocton when we visited my grandparents there in the summers, and Hilda Dryer's name came up more than once at the church potluck table, though I never could keep straight which mission field was hers. Decades of service, the paper says, and that phrase sits right with what I remember hearing as a girl, women who just went and stayed and didn't make a fuss about it. I don't know the details of her life and honestly that bothers me a little, that so much of it isn't written down anywhere I can find. Edit: a cousin just told me her mother corresponded with Hilda for years. Rest well, Hilda.
Their story
Hilda Wilma Dryer, known to generations of her community as a longtime missionary associated with Coshocton, died on October 17, 2026, at the age of 96. News of her death began circulating in local reports describing her simply as the "longtime Coshocton missionary," a phrase that reflects decades of service…
Hilda Wilma Dryer, known to generations of her community as a longtime missionary associated with Coshocton, died on October 17, 2026, at the age of 96. News of her death began circulating in local reports describing her simply as the "longtime Coshocton missionary," a phrase that reflects decades of service but also underscores how much of her personal story has yet to be told in detail by national or widely archived sources.
At this early stage, detailed biographical information about Hilda Wilma Dryer, including her exact date and place of birth, the specifics of her missionary work, the countries or communities she served, her education, and her family life, has not been made publicly available in verifiable reporting. Based on her age at death, she would have been born around 1929 or 1930, though no confirmed birth date has surfaced. People Forever will update this page as soon as those details are verified through reputable sources.
What is known is that she spent a significant part of her life in missionary work connected to Coshocton, a small city in Ohio, and that this work appears to have defined her public identity for the community that knew her. Missionaries like Dryer often dedicate decades to religious, educational, medical, or humanitarian service, frequently with limited public documentation of their day to day efforts, which may explain why so little has yet been reported about the specifics of her ministry.
Her death at 96 marks the end of a long life, but the cause of death has not been made public. No official statement from family members, a religious organization, or a mission agency had been located at the time of this writing to confirm the circumstances of her passing or to describe funeral and memorial arrangements.
This page reflects the earliest confirmed facts following her death. As is often the case with figures known primarily within a local or faith community rather than through extensive media coverage, fuller details about her upbringing, her ministry, and the people she touched are expected to emerge in the days following her death, through obituaries, tributes from her community, and accounts from those who worked alongside her. People Forever is committed to updating this page as verified information becomes available.
Biography adapted from News reports and the sources cited on this page; death reported by Your Ohio News.
My aunt knew her through the church too, she said Hilda never talked about herself, only the work.