Emile Richard Hill

Emile Hill spent much of his life in New Jersey; his childhood in Fair Lawn, where he met Ann (whom Emile referred to by her middle name, Jackie), and his adulthood in Wayne raising his three girls, Jean, Anne, and Carolyn. Later he resided in Pennsylvania and Maryland.

In his youth, Emile was on the student council and ran track in high school, spent time on Lake Ashmere, Massachusetts, in a bungalow built by his father and uncles, enjoyed family-time in New Hampshire, and fished in New Jersey.

Emile attended Stevens Institute in Hoboken New Jersey, graduating with honors in Mechanical Engineering and joining Beta Theta Pi fraternity, a brotherhood to which he remained loyal for the rest of his life. After Stevens, Emile began his masters work at MIT which he described as “harder than I ever wanted to work in my life” so he instead got a job and completed his master’s in electrical engineering in the evenings at Brooklyn Poly.

Emile and Jackie met in Fair Lawn through a mutual friend and were married in January of 1964. After a short time in an apartment not far from their hometown, they purchased the house in Wayne where they would live for the next 40 years.

Emile was a dedicated husband and father, putting the interest of his family first. Whether teaching the girls morality and kindness by example, or showing them how to fix things, his patience and time was always focused on them.

While Singer Kearfott changed hands many times, Emile never did, working the same job for 35 years. Emile designed parts that currently reside on the moon, worked on aspects of fighter helicopters, and holds a patent for a power buffer amplifier. He took early retirement in 1996 and spent the rest of his days enjoying his hobbies.

Emile’s involvement in the Steven’s Beta fraternity house continued as he volunteered both as treasurer and handy man, traveling regularly to Hoboken to install new windows on the house and to fix electrical and plumbing issues.

His love of old cars and the nostalgia of his youth led him to purchase a 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser which spent the next 20+ years in a state of disrepair while he painstakingly restored every minute detail of the car. Yet he only ever drove it once after that. For Emile, the pleasure was in the journey, not the destination.

Emile adored opera. He bought season tickets to the Metropolitan Opera House in NY, often heading straight into the city after work with a few pals. On Saturdays, a local radio station broadcast the opera-house matinee and opera played loudly in the basement all afternoon.

Emile tended to an epic garden in Wayne, growing the large plot a bit bigger every year. Raspberries, lettuce, cucumbers, broccoli, beans, peas, the juiciest Jersey tomatoes you ever tasted…you name it. His family grew up on healthy farm-to-table food deliciously prepared by Jackie nightly.

Emile loved radio-controlled airplanes and built many. He joined the local flying club and became an officer. Although his flying skills weren’t the best, Emile never got discouraged and loved everything about the hobby…building models, being outdoors, camaraderie with other flyers.

Emile read the New York Times cover to cover every day for 60 years and was an avid reader of books on quantum physics and magazines like popular mechanics.

He was an amazing neighbor. Whether it was helping Mr. Olowaz across the street plant his garden when he became too unwell to till it himself, walking and caring for the neighbor’s dog when she was too busy to give Bear the time he needed, or letting the neighborhood kids swim in his pool in York, Emile had a generous spirit.

After retirement, he did a deep dive into genealogy, exploring his Finnish roots, then turning to the history of other families as well.

Emile and Jackie enjoyed traveling throughout the U.S. and visiting Canada, Alaska, Finland, Russia, Turkey, most of Europe, and countless other locations including their favorite Bermuda time share.

While a series of mild strokes robbed him of his motivation and limited his memory in his 80s, he remained mild-mannered and continued to read daily, watch his beloved British comedies, and stay close to Jackie in his recliner, where he was the happiest, until the end.

Emile is survived by his loving wife Ann Jacqueline Hill, his sister Marjorie Nardin of California, his daughter Jean Donahue of New Jersey, daughters Anne Mulford and Carolyn Bowman of Maryland, and his 7 adored grandchildren, Emily Donahue, Travis Mulford, Katie Ann Donahue, Holly Mulford, Fred Mulford, Preston Bowman and Harper Jane Bowman, with whom his loving memory of a life well spent, his kindness of spirit, and remembrance of his love of gum drops, jelly beans, dogs, and all things blue, will live on.

The family will celebrate his life in a small private event in December 2023. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the National Ataxia Foundation in his memory, a cause dear to his heart. Donate - National Ataxia Foundation