James Green Hill

James Green Hill was born in Portales, New Mexico, on November 27, 1930, to Robert Kelly and Florence Simms Hill. The Hill family moved to Frisco, TX in 1932, where James graduated from Frisco High School in 1948.

James joined the USAF in January 1949, served during the Korean War, and was discharged in August 1951. James met his future wife, Adrienne Ann Reed, daughter of Weldon and Katheryne Reed, while on Christmas leave in December 1949 in Celina, TX. They were married on December 23, 1950, in Denton, TX. During their early years of marriage, James attended Arlington State College, now known as UTA. He was a lifetime member of the Thornton Elementary School PTA, was a board member and tutor for HOPE, was a past president of the Arlington Optimist Club, member of the Masonic Lodge #438 in Arlington since 1965, charter member of the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Arlington since 1957, having been baptized as a Methodist in Frisco in 1937.

For 20 years, James coached Optimist Pee Wee Football, with his Thornton Tigers winning the City Championship in 1969, one of his proudest moments as a coach. He also coached Optimist Pee Wee Baseball and the Arlington Junior and Senior League baseball teams. He began his career at Chance Vought Aircraft Company in 1951 and enjoyed his job immensely for more than 42 years. He worked in Material Cost Control and Program Management. James was also involved in all of the Boeing programs, B-1B Bomber, C-17 MacDonald Transport, several missile projects, and the B-2 Stealth Bomber Program. He loved being around aircraft, which drove his choice of military career, profession, and hobby of restoring Vought-made aircraft. Since 1996, James was a loyal board member of the Vought Aircraft Retiree Club, restoring old Vought aircraft for display in museums across the country, and was President and Chief Operating Officer of the Vought Heritage Foundation.

James is preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, Adrienne Ann, who passed in 2007, by his sisters, Mildred Penland, Margaret Floyd, and Merle Kaderka, and by his brothers Robert, Kelly Jr., Edwin, and Monte Lee. He is survived by his sister, Martha Ann Carter, of Waco, TX, his son, James Richard Hill and fiancée, Eliane Nicole Beyene, of Arlington, TX, his daughter, Melanie Kay, and her husband, Spencer Richardson, and granddaughter, Dawn Adrienne Lavender, all of Arlington, TX, and by his daughter, Kelly Ann, and her husband, Brad Harwick, of Round Rock, TX, and granddaughter, Mallory Michele, of Missouri City, TX, and grandson, Collin Bradford, of Belton, TX, and many nieces, nephews, friends, and Ann’s “sister", Mona Taff.

Donations can be made to Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist, the Vought Heritage Foundation, or to your preferred charity.

A visitation for James will be held Friday, March 7, 2025 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Moore Funeral Home, 1219 North Davis Drive, Arlington, TX 76012. A funeral service will occur Saturday, March 8, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, 2020 S Collins St, Arlington, TX 76010. A committal will occur Saturday, March 8, 2025 from 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM at Moore Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens, 1219 N Davis Dr, Arlington, TX 76012.