Hillam received a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University.

In 1981, Hillam was called as president of the LDS Church's Portugal Lisbon Mission.

On December 8, 1999, the eve of the 150th commemoration of the founding of the Sunday School, Hillam sealed the third Sunday School time capsule in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building; the capsule is scheduled to be opened in 2049, at the organization's 200th anniversary.

[2] Hillam was married to Carol Rasmussen and they had seven children, including Bonnie H. Cordon, who served as the fifteenth general president of the Young Women organization for the LDS Church.

He died at his home in Salt Lake City, Utah at age 77.