Mr. Lee H. Hill Jr.

Lee H. Hill Jr, 92, of Lenox, Mass. and Tampa, Fla. died Monday, October 3 at the palliative care unit of Berkshire Medical Center, Pittsfield, Mass. Born March 29, 1924 in Pittsburgh, Pa., he was the only child of Lee H. Hill Sr. and Helen (Wolfram) Hill. He grew up in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin and was a 1942 graduate of Wauwatosa High School. He was an active member of the Boy Scouts, earning his Eagle Scout rank in 1940. Immediately after high school graduation, Mr. Hill enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves at Cornell University, where he had enrolled in a war-time, accelerated engineering program. He was called to active duty at age 19, shortly after completing his freshman year at Cornell. Mr. Hill was initially assigned to the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) at Mississippi State College at Starkville. He then became a high-speed radio operator and was assigned to General Stillwell’s US forces in China. His travel to China was by air and rail and culminated in “flying the Hump” over the Himalayas from Calcutta in India to Kunming, China. A stamp collector since childhood, Mr. Hill increased his knowledge of the stamps of China while serving there in the war. He joined the Shanghai Philatelic Society as well as the Cornell Club of Shanghai where he made many contacts. He traded his government-issued cigarette rations for stamps and built a collection that he brought back to the U.S. in 1946 (this time by slow troop transport across the Pacific completing his global circumnavigation). After the war, Mr. Hill returned to Cornell, graduating with a degree in electrical engineering in 1949. He was hired by General Electric and worked briefly in Lynn, Mass. before coming to Pittsfield, where he was an engineer in the large power transformer division. His future wife, Dorothy (Scheer) Hill, was a “calculator” assisting engineers with computations. The couple became acquainted at the young adult fellowship of First Methodist Church, Pittsfield. They were married at that church on Sept. 9, 1950. Mr. Hill’s career at GE grew and expanded to executive roles, including marketing, manufacturing and general management in industrial apparatus. New assignments meant that he and his family were relocated several times: From Pittsfield to Charlotte; back to Pittsfield; to Schenectady, N.Y.; Columbia, S.C.; GE headquarters (then in Manhattan); and a return to Pittsfield in 1972. In 1975, he left GE after twenty-five years to become president of his family’s business, the Hill-Donnelly Corp. of Tampa, which published cross-reference directories for more than 100 cities. He also continued Lee H. Hill Consultants, Inc., a management consulting firm established by his father. He retired from his family businesses in 2002. He also served on the Board of Trustees of the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge Mass from 1975 to 1993 including several years as Treasurer. A devoted husband and father, Mr. Hill is survived by Dorothy, his wife of 66 years; two sons, Lee H. Hill III (Patricia) of Brandon, Fla. and Dr. Jonathan D. Hill (Sharon) of Ladue, Missouri; two daughters, Helen Hill Kotzky (Brian) of Glen Cove, N.Y. and Amy Hill Hearth (Blair) of Monmouth County, N.J; five grandchildren, Alexander C. Hill of Tampa; Barbara Hill Feichtinger (Gerhard) of Dunedin, Fla.; Brigit M. Kotzky of Minneapolis; Kim M. Kotzky of Glen Cove, N.Y.; Charles M. Hill of Clayton, Missouri; and one great-grandchild, Collin Lee Hill of Tampa. He was predeceased by his parents, uncles and aunts, a sister-in-law, and several cousins. A granddaughter, Anna Katherine Hill, died in 2012. The family would like to thank the staff at Kimball Farms, his Home Instead Senior Care aides, and the staff at Berkshire Medical Center for their care and efforts on his behalf. FUNERAL NOTICE- A memorial service open to all will be held on Sunday October 23 at 3:00pm at the United Methodist Church of Lenox where Mr. Hill was a member. He will be buried beside his parents and grandparents in Maple Grove Cemetery, Kew Gardens, Queens, N.Y. at a private service. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in his name to Boys and Girls Club of the Berkshires, 16 Melville St., Pittsfield, Mass. 01201; United Methodist Church of Lenox, 6 Holmes Rd, Lenox MA 01240; or Austen Riggs Center, 25 Main St, P.O.Box 962, Stockbridge, MA 01262. Please visit www.wellingtonfuneralhome.com to leave condolences to his family. WELLINGTON FUNERAL HOME, 220 East St., Pittsfield, MA 01201 is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Lee H. Hill Jr.

March 29, 1924 - October 3, 2016