Elroy L. Hill

Elroy was born on November 13, 1938, to the late Valdemar A. Hill Sr. and Florence C. Hill, on Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. He is survived by his wife Lorraine of 60 years and his son Mark, daughter-in-law Rosanna, step-grandson, Jene Andre Garcia, granddaughter-in-law, Jomyka and great grandchildren, Markuz and Harper Lily.  He is also survived by five siblings: Milton Malone, Valdemar Hill Jr. PhD., Donald Hill, along with Kathleen Hill Dyer, and Florence Hill Trent PhD. He is preceded in death by siblings: Elsie Hill Chinnery, Edwin Hill, Evan Hill, and Roger Hill.

Elroy is also survived by his Aunt and Uncle, Mavis H. Brady and Guy Donovan, Sisters-In-Law, Charlene, Jennifer, and Lorraine D. Hill, and Brothers-In-Law, Lowell Dyer, Wendell Trent, and Eugene A. Marteen, along with many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and numerous cousins. We also recognize his extended families to include the Vanterpool, Donovan, Sprauve, Blyden, Chinnery, and Vialet families, as well as special friends, Cecilia Rivera-Hill, Linda Hill, and Gail Calwood.  

Elroy was always very dedicated to his family, career, and community. His leadership and caring for his extended family have always been appreciated and recognized.  He also lived a very active working life that spanned several global geographies and occupational areas. He started his working career in the U.S. Air Force where he was initially deployed to Japan for two years with his subsequent two years deployed throughout the continental United States. During his Air Force career, he served as a Personnel Specialist and attained the rank of Airman 2nd Class and was awarded the Good Conduct Medal for his performance and conduct.  After his service in the Air Force, he returned to St. Thomas and joined the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Finance for approximately 2 years before transitioning to the U.S. Virgin Islands District Court as a Court Assistant. After a few years, Elroy resigned his position with the Court and moved to New York City, where he worked for Twentieth Century Fox during the day and attended Pace College in the evening. However, after living nine months in New York City, he returned to St. Thomas due to illness and convalesced at his parents’ home before going back to work for the Department of Finance. Aided by his strong determination to succeed, he completed additional accounting courses from the College of the Virgin Islands and Lasalle Extension University which advanced his career from Bookkeeper to Accountant, Auditor, and finally Senior Auditor. He often indicated that his years at the Department of Finance were very rewarding because of the knowledge, skills and experience acquired. Subsequently, he joined the Virgin Islands Office of Community Services within the Office of the Governor and served as Business Manager and Director. He was also a member of the State Manpower Planning Council of the Virgin Islands Community Action Agency Programs and was elected Chairman of the Board of another local non-profit economic development corporation. These positions gave him a wealth of administrative, management and leadership experiences. 

However, recognizing that the practicality of job experience also needed to be balanced with formal education, he attended the College of the Virgin Islands and received his Associate of Arts degree in Business Administration in 1972. This positioned him to become a member of the Cabinet of Governor Cyril E. King as the Executive Director, for the Office of Community Services. 

In 1976, Governor Cyril E. King appointed Elroy and his wife Lorraine to the first Inter-Governmental Personnel Assignment (IPA) to the U.S. Department of Interior from the Virgin Islands. Elroy was the first Desk Officer for the U.S. Virgin Islands at the U.S. Department of Interior, Office of Territorial Affairs. After his service with the IPA, Elroy made a serious decision to remain in the Washington, DC metropolitan area (Montgomery County, MD) in order to provide a better education for his son, Mark. He quickly found employment as Personnel Director with Dynamac Corporation in Rockville, MD, a government consulting firm of approximately 300 employees at the time. He quickly advanced to Vice President of Human Resources and remained with the company for 30 years prior to retiring.  During that time, Elroy earned a Bachelor of Science degree, magna cum laude, in Organizational Behavior from Marymount University.  Elroy also leveraged his professional background with the community as Vice President for Community Service from 2010-2011 in the 22nd Division of the Rockville, Maryland Lions Club.  For his efforts, he received The Beacon of Hope Award in 2011.

Although Elroy was dedicated and active in his professional and working life, he always remained dedicated and active in his church and religious life at St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. For many decades, he was an usher and a greeter for Sunday worship services, taught Bible Study Classes, and engaged in many of the church’s religious programs. He always looked forward to socializing and having coffee and danish after Sunday service. His dedication to church and religious life was built on his baptism and childhood in the Frederick Evangelical Lutheran Church on St. Thomas, VI. Elroy will always be remembered for his caring love and leadership to his entire family. In particular, he is remembered for transitioning his mother to Maryland to live with him and his family, which allowed her life to blossom in her latter years.  

May he rest in eternal peace with the Most High.

Memorial Offerings:

The family of Elroy L. Hill thanks you for the comfort of your presence here today. Expressions of sympathy in Elroy’s memory may take the form of memorial offerings to The Lutheran Church of St. Andrew, 15300 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20905 (www.mystandrew.org)