Kermit Hill

Funeral Services for Kermit Neal Hill, Decatur, will be held on Thursday, December 30, 2021 at Parkway Funeral Home in Trinity. Burial will follow immediately at Caddo Community Christian Church Cemetery.

Mr. Hill died Monday, December 27, 2021 at the age of 93. He is survived by one daughter, Patricia Hill Hughes Rohde (John) of Indian River, Michigan, and grandsons Nathan Allen and Jesse Ryan (Dana) Hughes also of Michigan.

Kermit was preceded in death by his dear wife of sixty-five years, Celia Rose Hill, of the Chalybeate Springs community, Lawrence County on April 2014.

Mr. Hill was born to parents Floyd and Adelia Gillespie Hill on October 1, 1928, long term residents of Lawrence County, and the 4th of 8 children. He was preceded in death by his parents, four brothers, Arnold, Lovis, Eugene, and Quinton Max; three sisters, Helen Hill Schooler (Ralph), Opal Hill Terry (Leldon), and Naomi Hill Ellis Jahr (John).

After graduating from Lawrence County High School, Kermit enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served for two years near the end of WWII. Attached to Fleet Aircraft Service Squadron Seven, his outfit was on the U.S.S Tarawa, CV-40, preparing for the invasion of Japan when the atomic bombs brought an abrupt end to WWII.

Back home after the war Kermit followed the hordes of job seekers to the auto industry in Southeastern Michigan where jobs were plentiful. Eager to use the G.I. Bill to fund a more formal education, Kermit enrolled in what is now Eastern Michigan University and graduated with a Business Degree and Teaching certificate four years later. By this time, he had married the love of his life and she became the major family bread winner in the auto industry during college days. Their only child Patricia was born near the middle of that period.

Mr. Hill spent the majority of his career in the public schools of Dearborn, Michigan, six years as a classroom teacher followed by Principal of both elementary and junior high buildings for 25 years. During those years he obtained graduate school degrees in Business Education and Public School Administration at the University of Michigan.

The Kermit and Celia Hill family have always been active and loyal members of the United Methodist Church. He had started as a child with his family at the Caddo Methodist Church. Most active in four different United Methodist churches in Michigan, holding all the lay leadership offices at one time or another, he was currently a member of Trinity UMC at Trinity.

Following retirement from the schools in 1984, Mr. Hill pursued his avocation interest in residential carpentry, construction, and modernization. He was a licensed single-engine pilot; enjoyed great lakes, boating, fishing, and hunting; and avid RV’er including active participation in the Holiday Rambler RV club which took them all over the U.S. and parts of Canada. As a student of business, he had more than a casual interest in the stock market but wasn’t able to do much about it until he was well into his career. He enjoyed telling about his first plunge into the market-five shares of Kresge stock- they’d just announced they had plans to build some K-Mart retail outlets! He was active in this interest the rest of his life.

Memorials may be sent to Trinity United Methodist Church, Trinity, Al; The Cemetery Fund, at Caddo Congregational Christian Church, Trinity; or Hospice of the Valley.

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