Dayvi Daggett Hill

Our dear sister Dayvi DeSemiha DeAlexandria Daggett Hill, passed away at 51, on Saturday February 16th in the loving care of her sister Deena, on the very same day and age of her mother’s passing, 34 years before her!

Dayvi was born April 12th, 1967 in Washington, DC. The third of four girls to Welborn David Daggett from Thomson, Georgia, and Samiha Abdel Rahman Abouzaid from Cairo, Egypt. David, a handsome American soldier, and Samiha, a beautiful independent spirit, waitress, and seamstress met eyes in Stuttgart Germany, joined in Muslim matrimony in the U.S., and eventually settled down in Washington, DC. They raised four girls, Desta, Davette, Dayvi, and Deena.

Dayvi attended Wilson Sr. High School in DC and experienced the devastating loss of her mother to ovarian cancer in 1985, her senior year. Years later, after a stunning career in cosmetology, still fragile from the loss, Dayvi sought the love of extended family in Cleveland, Ohio and attended Cleveland State University. She then lived in Austin, Texas, with the support of sister Davette and completed her Bachelor’s in Mathematics from Huston-Tillotson. Not one to stay any place long, Dayvi also lived in Detroit, Michigan, and then Atlanta, Georgia where she met her husband Kevin Hill. The pair soon moved to his family hometown of Pittsburgh where daughter, Nahla Jasmine Hasina Hill was born, among nurturing loved ones. Still in true fashion, they shortly moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, his birthplace, joining a whole host of family supporters and loved ones.

In 2012, Dayvi was met with the devastating news of Stage IV breast cancer diagnosis. Resilient and courageous, Dayvi put up a strong fight while raising daughter Nahla in her gentle, loving way. Juggling chemotherapy, motherhood, she taught mathematics in the Oklahoma school district, and several side jobs. Dayvi never missed a beat in knowing how to love life. She never met a stranger and always had a kind word for those in her aura. Never one to complain, many didn’t know the extent of her cancer. Full of compliments, she powered forward with her vibrant smile, teaching us all how to do much with little, how to live each day as if it is your last, and how to enjoy the different cultures of the world God has created.

In her final months, Dayvi was embraced by true friends and family in and out of the Muslim community. She seemed to find her true meaning with her sisters and brothers, old and new. She is remembered as a wise soul, a faithful servant, and a lover of mankind. She is survived by her husband, Kevin Hill (reunited), daughter Nahla (9), sister Desta and nephew Maxim, sister Davette and nephew Bryce, and sister Deena; Aunt Mabel and a host of family, cousins and friends who have loved her as kin.

We shall not mourn the passing of sister Dayvi, but cherish her life here on Earth with us. We shall not mourn, but celebrate the moments we spent with our Angel, who now lives on through her daughter Nahla. In her memory and in dedication to all the children of the world she so adored, we share with you a poem penned by Dayvi in 1992.

The Daggett family has a long tradition deeply rooted in education—sister Desta holds a degree from Virginia Tech, Davette from Boston College, and Deena from Cornell and Stanford. In lieu of flowers, please donate to a college scholarship fund we have established for daughter Nahla through GoFundMe link https://www.gofundme.com/dayvi-daggett-hill-scholarship-for-daughter-nahla or send contributions to:

Mail Checks: Davette Daggett 2442 Floral Ridge Drive Spring, TX 77388

Zelle: [email protected]

CashApp: $DeenaDaggett [email protected]

The Family would like to express a special heartfelt thanks to Imam Imad, Salma, Samia, Dr. Razaq, the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma, Red Rock Center, The Kinlow’s and all brothers and sisters, family, friends, and employers.

Treasured Children

My Treasured Children,

This is a Message For You,

We are Searching And Seeking too,

To Find Home Kept and Waiting,

With a light,

Burning Briskly and Signaling Safety,

As the moon is uncovered,

We begin our search,

To Diligently look for Our Little Ones,

In hidden places and the dark,

Kids are so clever,

To leave their mark,

Small trials of barrettes, balls and clay,

We follow as if in a maze,

And as we step in falter,

At a closed end And,

With A New Path to Trend,

We Think of Their Future,

As Hair Stylist, Scientist and Sculpture,

O' Blessed Children of God,

Endowed with Gifts That,

Illumine Inwardly & Naturally Flow,

Soon enough as we look ahead,

Our Little Precious Ones,

Come Runnin' from around the way.

~Dayvi 12-92