Thomas Teague Hill

Thomas Teague Hill, 97, passed away peacefully on May 29, 2021 in Gastonia, NC. Tom was born at 11:30pm on January 14, 1924 to Victor Dumas and Mary Eloise (Simmons) Hill at the family home in Conway, AR.

Tom attended public schools and graduated from Conway High School in 1941. He then went on to enroll at Hendrix College later that year. While still attending college, he enlisted in the US Navy in 1942 and served active duty, including a tour as Electronics Officer aboard a US Navy destroyer in courier service up and down the coast of China. Tom’s amateur radio connection started in 1943 in New Orleans, LA, where he passed the Radio Telephone First Class Operators Exam but unfortunately failed the amateur code test due to a faulty paper code tape.

Tom graduated from Hendrix College in 1945 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Physics and the following year, in 1946, he was honorably discharged from the US Navy.

During his time in the service, Tom also studied at Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, The University of Texas, Columbia University, Bowdoin College, and MIT. From 1946 to 1947, he worked as a Transmitter Engineer at the radio station KARK in Little Rock, AR. In 1948, he graduated from The University of Texas with a Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering and soon after began working at the Sylvania Physics Lab in Bayside, NY. In 1950, he transferred to Sylvania Electronics Division in Boston, MA, which later became GTE Government Systems Corp. in Waltham and Needham, MA. Tom was awarded the title of Registered Professional Engineer in 1963 and later pursued graduate studies at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and Northeastern University.

Until his retirement in 1980, Tom served in various capacities ranging from electronic circuit designer, technical liaison, to program manager and engineering manager. His areas of interest ranged from precise time standards, shipboard radar, voice encryption, airborne electronic countermeasures, mobile Army digital computers, Navy aircraft flight stimulators, thin film hybrid microelectronics applications, and mobile Army telephone systems to production cost tracking and prediction, and large-system configuration management.

In 1985, Tom finally got around to taking the Amateur Code Test again and passed – receiving his Novice License on a Friday afternoon. The following morning, Andy Griffith was offering exams in New Bern, NC so Tom rushed over and walked out as Advanced Class – thus he was a novice for less than 24 hours. It was not until several years later that he would upgrade to Extra Class and join the VE Team, but from 1991 and on, he was active on testing teams in New Bern, NC, Morehead, NC, and Jacksonville, NC. During that time, he was very interested in digital communications, some 2-M nets, SKYWARN, and VE testing.

Tom is survived by his loving wife, Linda Thrower Hill; his son, Alan Hill of Albuquerque, NM; his step-children, Robin (Butch) Gray, Richard (Donna) Nolan, Tracy (Terence) Thomas, and John (Barbara) Thrower; and a multitude of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents, Victor and Mary; his first wife, Jean Harvey; his second wife, Gladys Evelyn “Eve” Louderbaugh; his daughter, Karen Hill; and his step-son, William Nolan, Jr.

The family will receive guests from 1pm until 2pm on Saturday, June 5, 2021 at Forest Lawn West Funeral and Cremation Service, 4601 Freedom Drive, Charlotte, NC 28208. The funeral service will start at 2pm in the Paul Helton Chapel. Guests are invited to attend a reception at the funeral home immediately following the service.