Ann Jacqueline Hill

Ann Jacqueline Hill, also known as Jackie, was born at home in 1938 to Jean and Karl Sundermeyer in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, where she would live until she married. Her extended family all lived within walking distance of one another in Fair Lawn, and she grew up in a close-knit community of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Growing up, Jackie was an avid reader and regularly climbed trees with her brother. She once slid down the side of a tree, catching her arm on a nail, and leaving a bad scar on her inner arm which fascinated her children, and made her seem tougher than they expected.

Jackie was raised in a religious household and she attended Eastern Christian High School where she joined the basketball team with her best friend Ruth, and they would travel together on weekends to Patterson to watch boys’ basketball games. Eastern Christian had a no dancing policy, but a rebellious young Jackie taught other students to dance in class, alongside a teacher who disagreed with the policy.

Jackie was awarded the Betty Crocker Homemaker Girl of year, earning her a cookbook which would inspire her to become a great cook.

She attended Cornell, where she joined Kappa Delta sorority. It was there she learned to love to play bridge, spending hours playing cards in the Ivy room, a popular hangout. She earned a B.S. in Chemistry, a subject chosen by her father, and while she did work briefly in the chemistry field, she later was able to get her master’s in library science, a subject more to her tastes.

After Cornell, she got her first job at Fisher Scientific. With her new earnings, she took a cruise to Bermuda with her good friend, Dorothy Zenorini, a trip that would foster a life-long love of the island. She also worked jobs at Lederly Labs and Esso Research and Engineering.

Living with her parents in Fair Lawn after college, Jackie met and married Emile in 1964. They briefly lived in a small apartment, but after Jean arrived, they bought the home on Lawrence Road in Wayne where they would raise their daughters and live for the next 40 years.

Jackie became a stay-at-home mother as was the norm at the time, but she longed to work again. For the 17 years she was home, she filled her time with sewing, canning, knitting, crewel needlework. She also held volunteer positions, including President of the Haldon Cooperative Nursery School.

Jackie was a talented seamstress, making clothes for herself, her mother, and the girls. The girls would wear home-sewn matching Christmas outfits and Easter dresses and enjoyed the Halloween outfits and prom dresses made by mom.

Armed with her library science master’s from Rutgers, she got a job at William Patterson College in 1982. Starting as a part-time reference librarian working nights, she worked her way up the ladder, moving to a full-time employee, and after earning a second master’s degree, she was promoted to the head of the periodical department. By the time she retired, she was a tenured professor.

Jackie was a research librarian through and through and taught her girls how to investigate, question, and defend any topic. When Carolyn asked to study abroad in high school, Ann told her to research it and get back to her. Had Microsoft existed, surely a PowerPoint would have been presented. Instead, Carolyn went to the library, compiling facts and reviews of exchange programs, analysis of costs, and stories of exchange student’s experiences. Again, when radial keratotomy was on the table, detailed research was expected to be presented to Ann before it met her approval.

Ann loved crossword puzzles and did the New York Times puzzle daily, often completing it.

While it is Emile that is well known for the amazing garden on Lawrence Road, it was in fact Jackie who first encouraged Emile to plant tomatoes in a small plot outside the bathroom windows, not knowing at the time that it would turn into a monumental hobby for Emile and a wonderful way to feed their family year-round. A joint effort really, with Jackie cooking and canning the food Emile grew, baking delicious cheery pies from the tree out back, and pickling and canning much of the excess to enjoy throughout the winter. Jackie’s early training with the Betty Crocker cookbook served her well and she taught herself many wonderful recipes including coq au vin, ratatouille, and delicious meatballs.

Jackie volunteered with the League of Women Voters serving as President. On the state board, she produced special newspaper editions with candidate questions and answers. She managed many debates, notably the 1982 U.S. Senate primary debate at Stockton College between Millicent Fenwick and Frank Lautenberg, earning her a heartfelt thank you letter from Representative Fenwick that she treasured. During this time, she rubbed elbows with many politicians, which strengthened her belief in women’s role in politics.

Jackie was an accomplished knitter. She knit many sweaters, including Fisherman knit, for the girls and son in laws, and made Christmas stockings for kids and grandkids.

After the girls left for college, Ann joined AAUW, making new friends and eventually serving a term as treasurer in the York branch.

A time-share was purchased at The St. George’s Club in Bermuda and for most of the 18 years left on the timeshare, Jackie and Emile enjoyed their August week in Bermuda, often renting a second unit to accommodate the girls and their families. Good friends like Ruth and Ken Knapp joined them as well. The second time-share, based in Mexico, was used both in Mexico and traded for worldwide destinations, including the Algarve in Portugal for a New Year’s trip with Anne and Carolyn.After retiring from William Patterson, Jackie and Emile moved to York, Pennsylvania, building their dream home with a lovely view and a pool. Jackie got involved with local organizations to keep her retirement busy, and they traveled the world. Ann would research destinations and build custom trips, but as they aged and exploring became more difficult, river cruises were booked instead. Emile was sometimes dragged along unwillingly, although he always enjoyed it once he was out of the house. She took many photos on the trips and would compile photo albums with labels and information about the locations upon their return.

Ann enjoyed taking photos of flowers. While in Pennsylvania, she printed and framed many, and included them in local photography exhibits.

In 2017, after multiple falls made a two-story home no longer feasible, Jackie and Emile moved into a cozy 2-bedroom apartment at Kentlands Manor, 10-minutes from Anne’s home in Maryland. Jackie took advantage of all the retirement community had to offer and soon found a bridge-group, started her day with group-coffee in the common room, enjoyed game nights and managed to keep herself quite busy. She played bridge and solitaire on her phone and was a voracious reader, regularly tearing through a book in a day or two.

After Emile’s passing in October 2023, Jackie moved to a nursing facility where she enjoyed bingo and a newfound love of pirate’s booty and fudge striped cookies. Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy became the highlight of her day and proved to be a calming force in her final year.

A serious-minded woman at heart, Jackie will be remembered as a scholarly woman whose love of bridge, crosswords, and general knowledge has been passed down to the younger generations, and her adoration of her family will be cherished forever.