Lorraine Harris Hill

Born Lorraine Harris in Elizabeth, she moved to Staten Island in her early teens, living with her family in Port Richmond. She attended McKee High School, and then went to work to help her mother raise her eight younger siblings after her father's death, family said.

Mrs. Hill was employed as a nurse's aide at the former St. Vincent's Hospital in West Brighton for several years, and then worked for Upjohn's Home Health Care on Staten Island, providing in-home care for private clients.

"She was a kind-hearted, wonderful, loving person," said her daughter, Barbara Hunter. "She was a giving person, with open arms and open doors for anyone who needed help."

Mrs. Hill was an avid reader, and enjoyed music, dancing, and arts and crafts. She loved to paint watercolors and portraits, and sold her work at local fairs and events at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, Livingston.

She was a devout Jehovah's Witness for over 50 years, and was a member of Port Richmond's Kingdom Hall congregation.

Her husband of 36 years, Douglas Ronald Hill, died in 1997.

Surviving, in addition to her daughter, Barbara, are her sons, William, Philip, Ronald Jr., David and Johnell; her daughters, Edna Renee and Lorraine; her brother, Frank Grimsley; her sister, Eureatha (Cookie) Connolly; 24 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

The funeral service will be Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Virginia Funeral Chapel, Dongan Hills. Burial will follow on Monday in Calverton (L.I.) National Cemetery.