Glenn Hills, longtime ‘Cheese Man’ at Flint Farmers’ Market, dies at 84
FLINT, MI – Glenn Richard Hills, a longtime staple inside the Flint Farmers’ Market, died peacefully in the care of his family on Feb. 27 after a four-year battle with vascular dementia and Parkinson’s.
Known as the “Cheese Man,” Hills, 84, owned and operated Hills Home Cured Cheese since 1961, when he first opened in Lansing.
He moved into the Flint Farmers’ Market in 1994, where the company is now owned by his son Paul and daughter-in-law Rebekah.
“When I married his son, he was the most wonderful, kind-hearted father-in-law you could ask for,” Rebekah said. “He was one of the most open minded people I ever knew.”
Hills Home Cured Cheese has also been located inside of the Davison Farmers’ Market since 2014, and Hills retired during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to avoid getting sick.
“He did cheese before it was cool,” Rebekah told MLive-The Flint Journal.
Hills grew up in Ovid on his family’s Centennial Farm, which is now a part of Sleepy Hollow State Park.
He was a 1956 graduate of Ovid High School and attended Ferris State University and Lansing Business University where he earned his real estate degree.
Rebekah said Hills started a cheese company because he grew up in a family of farmers, but he chose cheese because it is a longer lasting business and has better margins.
“It brought the community together because everybody likes cheese,” she said.
Hills Home Cured Cheese has over 100 fromage from around the country, including Wisconsin, California and Atlanta.
The business earned him the nickname of “The Cheese Man” throughout Michigan, according to Hills’ obituary.
“He taught me to never be afraid to go for the audience that you haven’t checked into yet,” Rebekah said. “Every single person can be a potential customer. That’s what he instilled into me.
“He adored his customers. I still hear stories from customers that met him, and he just loved the customer service.”
Besides his passion for cheese, Hills loved…
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