Betty Hill was born Kathleen Betty Hill in the silver mining town of Cobalt, Ontario on December 15, 1926. Shortly after she was born, her family moved to the gold mining town of Kirkland Lake where Betty grew up.
Thanks to a great teacher in Grade 9, Betty enjoyed math and sciences and when she informed her school principal that she intended to take Engineering in university she remembers laughingly that she was told she couldn’t be an engineer because “women don’t do that”! However, in 1944 Betty came to Toronto to attend the University of Toronto where she graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering in 1948.
Finding work was difficult, as employers did not look kindly on female engineers who “might get married”. After a couple of false starts, Betty landed a job with an American company where she eventually became a specialist in water and waste treatment. Betty’s acceptance into the engineering field was finally established when she went to New York and worked for a firm in designing & manufacturing industrial water and waste treatment plants. She returned to Canada where she worked in the heavy chemical industry and then she went back with the American company producing and selling the company’s water and waste treatment equipment in Canada and solving water treatment problems for many industries in Ontario. Betty moved to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment in 1969 and finally to the Ministry of Labour where she eventually retired.
Betty was an avid skier and was a regular at Copper Mountain, Colorado. She traveled the world and lived life to the fullest, with so many friends and so many tales to tell. She was also a devoted daughter to her mother, Rose, and commuted often on weekends to be with her at Markdale / Beaver Valley. She will be terribly missed.
We would like to thank everyone at Belmont House who has been so incredible especially the staff on 2 East, who were amazing with Betty while frequently communicating with the family.
In lieu of flowers, please donate in Betty’s name to Women’s College Hospital.
Friends and Family will be received at Rosar-Morisson Funeral Home 467 Sherbourne St. Toronto. A memorial visitation will be held on Thursday January 26, 2023 from 2-3 p.m. Followed by a memorial service in the funeral home chapel at 3p.m.
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