Evelyn Hill was an inveterate storyteller, and judging from the rapt attention of church audiences, friends and sometimes even a stranger behind a shop counter, she told them with skill and passion. Hers weren’t the make-believe kind of stories; they were based on actual experiences from 40 years on the mission field, traveling the world, and interacting with countless people of multiple cultures and stations in life back in the States.
Evelyn’s personal story came to end at age 96 on Sept. 27, 2023, in Greensboro, N.C. Still active, clear-minded and living independently, her health had been deteriorating for some time, and she passed away after a fall in her apartment.
Born Evelyn Lois on Feb. 17, 1927, in Battleboro, N.C., to Ernest T. and Lois G. Pittman, she grew up in nearby Whitakers alongside older brother Ernest Harold, always known as Bill. Before high school, she had committed her life to Jesus Christ and to a career one day as a missionary abroad. Though her piano training wasn’t extensive, she turned those lessons into a lifetime of musical enjoyment and accompaniment of congregational and family singing in many languages.
At Mars Hill Junior College from 1943-45, she earned an associate degree while beginning to expand her worldview and meeting the man she and her friends dubbed SP – her “secret passion.” Ronald Callahan Hill of Spindale, N.C., began dating Evelyn, and their love was tested by distance as he traveled to Texas to earn a bachelor’s degree at Baylor University and she stayed in North Carolina to earn hers at Wake Forest College.
On Aug. 13, 1948, they married in Whitakers and soon struck out for New Orleans, where they undertook graduate studies in seminary, ministered in small rural churches and were immersed for the first time in a strange but fascinating cosmopolitan society. When Mao Zedong closed China to outsiders in 1949, the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board appointed the couple to the newly opened mission field of Thailand. They traveled to the other side of the world by ocean steamer in 1952 with sons Robert David and Neal Timothy in tow, and a few years later, Deborah Lynn and Jonathan Yates were born in Bangkok.
Planting and growing churches were Ronald and Evelyn’s primary responsibilities, and these remained their passion. But like most missionaries, they also filled in wherever needed. Ronald’s other work ranged from producing Thai films based on Bible stories to administering the mission organization, to caring for Cambodian refugees. Evelyn worked by his side in most of these roles while also managing the home and home-schooling the four children through various grade levels. It wasn’t all about the books either; she could often be seen roller-skating with them underneath their Thai-style house on stilts.
The early piano lessons came in handy as she played for many churches over the years and even mastered the Hammond electric organ for church services at the U.S. Army 809th Engineer Battalion’s camp near Bang Khla, Thailand. During these happy years, Evelyn also counseled young American G.I.s and Thai women who were contemplating marriage, and the Hill household became a home-away-from-home for many dearly loved soldiers.
Across four decades in Thailand, Ronald and Evelyn lived, worked and made lasting friendships in several places, including Bangkok, Chonburi, Bang Khla, Chanthaburi and Lampang. Retiring and saying farewell to the country in 1992 was heartbreaking, but the Hills embarked on a full new life in Greensboro and clearly relished being able to spend time with family. They were active at Friendly Avenue Baptist Church, helped settle various groups of Southeast Asian refugees, and sought to establish and nurture Christian fellowships among them.
After Ronald developed a Parkinsonism-plus syndrome, the couple moved into Friends Homes West, and Evelyn was his loving caregiver until his death in 2013. She continued to play piano for a fellowship of Karen hill-tribe believers at Friendly Avenue Baptist, pastored by Dr. Bryan Presson, and was involved in the Women’s Missionary Union and other activities. Only with the onset of the pandemic lockdown did she begin to significantly slow her energetic, engaged lifestyle. She was telling stories to the end, however.
Evelyn is survived by: her sons and daughters-in-law, Robert and Ellen Hill of Harrisonburg, Va., Neal Hill and Mychelle Mollot of Ottawa, Ontario, and Jonathan Hill and Mary Jane Hill of Carrboro, N.C.; daughter Deborah Hill of Greensboro and her partner Steve Styers; grandchildren Megan Hill, Jessica Hill, Jonathan Hill Jr., and Gabriel and Julian Mollot-Hill; and great-grandchildren Kathryn and Charles Carroll.
A celebration of Evelyn’s life will take place Saturday, Oct. 7, at 1 p.m. in the sanctuary of Lawndale Baptist Church, 3505 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro. Burial will follow at 3:30 at Westminster Gardens Cemetery, 3601 Whitehurst Road, Greensboro.
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations in Evelyn's memory be directed to the Friendly Avenue Baptist Church, Memo: For Friendly Avenue Karen Church, 4800 W. Friendly Ave., Greensboro, NC 27410.
