Mrs. Mona Harvey Hiatt, 87, of Chapin, SC, peacefully passed away surrounded by family on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, she was the daughter of the late Thomas Gerald and Helen Phillips Harvey. Mona was married to the late William S. Hiatt, Jr. for 62 years.

Curious about the world, Mona loved to travel. Exploring with friends and family was a passion. She was fascinated by other cultures and God's creations and wanted to experience them firsthand. One time she even drove in a station wagon cross-country with three teenagers, a five-year-old, two dogs and pop-up trailer, visiting national parks en route to pick up her husband from a sales conference out West. Bill was quite impressed. Six years later, she was a chaperone for 30 teenagers traveling to India, touring New Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, and Himalaya Mountain towns. Mona loved an adventure. Whether she was stuck in a blizzard in the Alps, exploring the ancient street of Ephesus or cruising the Caribbean with her 91-year-old father, she loved to explore.

Mona's curiosity about the world did not stop with travel. Throughout her life she constantly sought to educate herself. She took classes in stain glass fabrication, furniture upholstery, Native American basket weaving, quilting, sugar sculpting, history of world art, and classifying antiques versus reproductions. Many of these classes culminated in a prized family heirloom. She created a large-scale textile, mixed media family portrait, depicting her family crabbing at her parents' home. The family portrait won first prize at the SC State Fair. Her family especially appreciated the "homework" from her cake baking and decorating class's weekly cake projects. The cake class culminated in a three-tier wedding cake for a friend. Delicious!

Raising four children was one of Mona's gifts. Not because everything was always calm and perfectly planned (she had so many classes) but because she had tenacity and the spirit to engage. Her house was always full. She created that space. Mark's old cars pulled apart in the garage, Lisa's painted canvases spread out to dry for her art show, Holly's Girl Scout badge projects scattered across the kitchen table, and Lance's guinea pigs roaming the house. She was a substitute teacher, homeroom mother, stage mom, soccer mom, marching band mom, track mom, cheerleader mom, spiritual guide, and loving wife.

With everything that has been said about Mona's life, the one thing that gave her the strength and comfort to witness the tragedies of loss and the moments of beatitude was her faith. Mona was a deeply religious woman and her faith in the Lord was her guide in life. Her spiritual life at North Trenholm Baptist Church was important to her. She loved the comradery of Woody's Sunday school class and friends for over 40 years. She was so excited to hear about two of her greatgrandchildren attending the North Trenholm WeekDay program.

Survivors include her children: daughter, Holly (David) Scaturo; son, Lance (Tim Parks) Hiatt; daughter-in-law, Bonnie Hiatt; granddaughters: Jennie Hiatt, Hayden (Walt) Whisenhunt and Halle Scaturo; grandsons: Dane (Emily) Dressler and Blake (Sally) Dressler. She was also a very proud great- grandmother of seven. In addition to her parents, Mona was preceded in death by her daughter, Lisa Hiatt Trew; son, William Mark Hiatt; and brother, Mark Harvey.

A service will be held at 2 o'clock, Sunday, June 5th at Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, 7600 Trenholm Road Ext., Columbia. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. A private burial will be held at Greenlawn Memorial Park. A livestream of the service will be available at ShivesFuneralHome.com.

Memorials may be given to North Trenholm Baptist Church, Children's Programs, 6515 North Trenholm Road, Columbia, SC 29206.

Memories and condolences may be shared at ShivesFuneralHome.com.