Wilmer "Bill" B. Hill

Wilmer Bailey Hill (always known as Bill or Billy) was born on May 18, 1928, in Washington, D.C., to Wilmer A. and Matilda Neighbor Hill. He spent his youth in the D.C. area and graduated from Roosevelt High School. Bill earned his Bachelors degree from Dartmouth College where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and he has always been proud to wear the Dartmouth green. After graduating with a Masters from Georgetown University School of Law, he spent 1 ½ years in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in Korea. Returning to D.C., Bill became a partner in Ames, Hill, and Ames, a transportation law firm co- founded by his father. During his tenure there, he served as President of the Transportation Law Association for the trucking industry.

In 1967, he married the love of his life, Joan Brunelle, whom he affectionately called “Goodie.” They enjoyed living in D.C. and Chevy Chase, Maryland. In 1970, Bill and Joan welcomed their first son, Stuart Michael; in 1974, Stephen Mark made their family complete. They enjoyed spending time with a large group of friends, including Bill's sister, Dottie and her husband, Bob, and Joan's sister

and brother-in-law, Joyce and George, and taking advantage of the many cultural and sports activities in the D.C. area, becoming die-hard Redskins fans.

Following deregulation of the transportation industry, Bill dissolved the law firm and practiced on his own for a few years. In 1986, he became an Administrative Law Judge for the Social Security Administration and was assigned to Portland,Oregon, in the spring. Joan and the boys followed as soon as school was out. Quickly the Hills became enamored of the Northwest and decided to stay, settling in southwest Portland and later moving to Beaverton. Before retiring in 1996, Bill became a supervising judge for the SSA and traveled throughout the Northwest as part of that position, with Joan joining him as often as she could.

A lifelong Methodist, Bill was an active member of First United Methodist Church in Portland where he loved the music program and served on the travel committee, planning and participating in several group trips. He and Joan loved travel of all sorts, domestic and foreign; favorite jaunts were regular visits to Florida to join friends from the East coast and to Hawaii. Bill was an avid golfer; as members of the Portland Golf Club, he and Joan also enjoyed entertaining friends at the club and taking part in many activities. They encouraged Stuart in his extreme sports activities and Stephen's musical talent, and “Granddad” was extremely proud of his grandson, Stuart James.

During the last few months of his life, Bill and Joan were together at The Springs at Tanasbourne. The family wishes to thank the wonderful staff there for their genuine love and care and also the hospice staff who visited regularly.

Bill is survived by his loving wife, Joan; sons, Stuart and Stephen; grandson, Stuart James; sister Dorothy Hartland from Maryland, and cousin, Doug Waite from Hartford, N.Y.

A service to remember Bill's life will be held at first United Methodist Church in Portland at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 30. The family suggests remembrances to the music program at the church.

Arrangements under the direction of Pegg, Paxson & Springer Funeral Chapel, Beaverton, OR.