Eugene F. Hill

Eugene (Gene) Francis Hill walked on with his Lord in Heaven on July 12th, 2024, at the age of 69. Gene is survived by Sheena, his devoted wife of 39 years, his four sons, Dustin, Sean, Alex, and Jason, and his grandson, Gerard. He is also survived by his sister Wendie Hallowell of Ft. Worth, TX, and John Thomas Hill of Arlington, TX.

Gene was born on January 23rd, 1955, in Fort Worth, Texas, as the youngest of three children to Francis and Bette Marie Hill. At the age of 19, he got into a life-altering accident involving a descending elevator, which caused irreversible damage to his larynx. While in the ER, he told his father he loved him, and that was the last time he spoke with his original voice. The doctors successfully performed life-saving surgery on him but couldn’t preserve his ability to speak. Over the next 2 years, he taught himself how to speak using false vocal cords.

After his accident, he bought a guitar and learned to play. His passion for music came in no small part from his parents, who fell in love through music on a medical ship returning to the United States from Europe at the height of World War II. Bette Marie Paxton played the piano while Francis Hill sang along. Gene revered his father’s singing voice, as he often reminisced on how he led hymns for their local church, but without a singing voice of his own, he needed to choose his own part to play. Two years after his accident, he lost his father due to a massive heart attack. A jogger found Francis resting peacefully at the base of a tree.

Gene went on to enroll at the University of Texas in Arlington and achieved a Bachelor of Science. During his medical training, he got to work in the laboratory at Saint Joseph Hospital in Fort Worth, TX, where he met his then-future wife, Sheena Lee. At the time, Sheena referred to Gene as “the guy with the funny voice,” but that “funny voice,” which sounded like a Donald Duck and Wolfman crossover, grew on her every day until they both said “I do” on January 23rd, 1985.

They lived in Arlington, TX for a few years, where their first child, Dustin Samuel Hill, and second child, Sean Eugene Hill, were born. With families in both Dallas/ Fort Worth, TX, and Memphis, TN, they decided to move to Dumas, AR, which sat between the two points. There, their third child, Alex Christian Hill, and fourth child, Jason Lee Hill were both born, and all four children grew up oblivious to their father’s unique vocals. They visited both sides of the family often to ensure their children knew them well.

A visitation for Eugene will be held Saturday, July 27, 2024 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM at Moore Funeral Home, 1219 North Davis Drive, Arlington, TX 76012. A funeral service will occur Saturday, July 27, 2024 at 2:00 PM, 1219 North Davis Drive, Arlington, TX 76012. A committal service will occur Saturday, July 27, 2024 at Moore Memorial Gardens, 1219 North Davis Drive, Arlington, TX 76012.