James J. Hill

Jim was born on August 20, 1932 in Norwalk, CT to parents Harrison Hill and A. Maude Killam Hill. He was predeceased by his loving wife of 68 years, Jean Canfield Hill. A cherished father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Jim will be dearly missed by his family: his son Kenneth (Cynthia) Hill of Concho, AZ; his son Bruce (Ina) Hill of Fairfax, VA, and their children, Sarah Hill, Pearl (Collin) Hansen, Chris (Sinclaire) Hill, Grace Lee, and Katherine Hill; his daughter Jennifer (Michael) Stassen of Glastonbury, CT, and their children, Emily (Gabriella) Pacht, Eric (Mehak Sharma) Stassen, Elizabeth Stassen, and Shao Stassen; and his great-grandchildren Cameron and Ariah. He has many cousins spread all across North America. His family would like to send a special thank you to his devoted caregiver, Seth Koranteng.

A graduate of Wethersfield High School (Class of 1950), Trinity College (Class of 1954), and Harvard Business School (Class of 1967), Jim proudly served in the United States Air Force for 22 years. In addition to flying B-52s during the Cuban Missile Crisis and serving in Vietnam, Jim traveled the world with his family, eventually settling in Essex, CT. He continued his career as a cost engineer at Electric Boat for almost 20 years. Because he could not sit still for long, he also worked for a few years at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Jim was well known in Essex, where he served as the Republican Party Town Chairman for many years. He also served on various boards in town. He was active at St. John’s Episcopal Church, serving on the vestry and as an usher. During each church rummage sale, Jim could be found running the small appliance/electronics department, while also helping Jean in the White Elephant section. Unknown to many, Jim was a talented craftsman. He renovated many houses while stationed in various locations. More recently, he helped Jennifer’s family with innumerable renovation and building projects. He created many beautiful pieces of furniture for the family. Jim loved cars, rebuilding several over the years, such as a ’64 Mustang with his son Ken and a ’53 MG-TD. After moving back to CT, he and his son Bruce learned to sail in the waters of Essex.

One of his favorite activities was creating the costumes for Essex Ed. He was asked to create a costume for the oversized rodent in the early 1980’s and continued to create his fun costumes for more than 20 years, making an effort to honor all sorts of groups important to Essex. Many children certainly remember the costumes that Jim lovingly made. One of his most precious memories was traveling to China with Jennifer to adopt Elizabeth in 2003.

Jim always treasured his summers in Tusket, Nova Scotia with his Canadian family. Knowing how special time with family can be, he continued the summer vacation tradition by hosting all the children and grandchildren in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

A graveside memorial service will be held on Friday, January 3rd at 1:00PM at the Village Cemetery, 1 Marsh Street, Wethersfield, CT.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Operation Smile: PO Box 758588 Topeka, KS 66675.