Thomas Austin Hill

Thomas Austin Hill, 83, of Oklahoma City, went home to be with the Lord on November 8, 2026. He died at home, surrounded by his wife, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Tom was born February 8, 1943, in Pryor, Oklahoma, to Thomas Austin Hill and Lois Jean Bavinger. He accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior at the age of 12 and attended church regularly with his mother and his grandmother, who was a great influence on his life. "She showed me love by paying attention to me," he said. "We lived across the street from her, and I was always doing things for and with her." His fondest boyhood memories were the summers spent on Granddad Bavinger's farm.

A man after God's own heart, Tom carried those early lessons into everything he did. Faith, service to others, and personal attention to the people he loved were the hallmarks of his life.

He served his country in the United States Marine Corps from February 1961 to December 1967, including a tour in Vietnam as a Radar Intercept Officer in F-4B Phantom jets with the Silver Eagles, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115 (VMFA-115). On July 29, 1963, he married Kay Kimmell at First Lutheran Church in Oklahoma City. In 1971, he graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and was a member of Sigma Tau.

Immediately after college, Tom joined his father-in-law, Garman Kimmell, at Kimray, Inc., an Oklahoma City manufacturer of oil and gas production controls. For more than 50 years, Tom served Kimray as Vice President, President, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board, and ultimately Chairman Emeritus. He developed numerous products for the oil and gas industry and grew the company substantially during his years as its senior leader.

Tom believed a business could build up people as well as products. He pioneered open-book management at Kimray and started a character-based leadership program there in 1992. He named it Character First because he believed good character was the foundation of a safe, productive, and profitable workplace. Kimray began hiring, training, evaluating, and promoting people based on character, and other organizations soon followed. In 1996, at the request of local police and school officials, he launched a children’s version for schools. By 2019, Character First! had been implemented by more than 2,000 businesses, 1,800 school districts, and 350 communities in the United States and 28 other countries. Tom told this story in his 2010 book, Making Character First: Building a Culture of Character in Any Organization.

Tom co-founded SALLT (Salt and Light Leadership Training), a Christian leadership development organization that equips people to grow in their faith, discover their purpose, and use their influence for the good of their communities and the glory of God. He served as President of the Metro Tech Foundation; as a trustee and board member of Oklahoma Baptist University, Scope Ministries, Novo Ministries, and the Oklahoma City YMCA; and as the founding sponsor of Oklahoma Schools of Character.

From 2002 until his death, Tom attended Western Hills Baptist Church, now Together Church, where he served as an elder and trustee. He could also be found waiting tables at church meals—a true servant of all.

Tom’s dedication and service were widely recognized. Oklahoma Christian University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws in 2005. His honors also included the Oklahoma Central Baptist Association Christian Citizen of the Year (1998); the CBMC Salt and Light Award (2002); the Great Patriot Award (2008) and the George Washington Honor Award (2009) from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge; the Valir Health Community Award (2008); the Pathmaker Award from the Oklahoma Historical Society (2009); OK Ethics’ first Pilot Award (2010), the same year that Kimray received the OK Ethics Compass Award for mid-sized companies; the NASBA Center for the Public Trust “Being a Difference” Award (2012); the Chairman’s Award from the Meinders School of Business Hall of Honor at Oklahoma City University (2014); and recognition among Oklahoma’s Most Admired CEOs (2015).

But for all his accomplishments, Tom found his greatest joy in his family. He loved Kay and their children and was a devoted husband and father. Later in life his grandchildren and great-grandchildren become his favorite hobby. He loved doing projects with them, buying everyone Chick-fil-A (or dinner anywhere they wanted), and simply spending time together. Always the engineer, he fixed things wherever he went, even in the vacation homes he rented for the family, and he was designing, redesigning, and solving problems right up to his last days.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas Austin Hill and Lois Jean Bavinger; his sister, Lois Jeanette Smith; and his brothers, Bobby Gene Davis, George Alva Davis Jr., and Richard Kent Davis.

He is survived by Kay, his wife of 63 years; his sister, Doris Pauline Hill Arthur Turner of Rolla, Missouri; and his children and their families:

His son Thomas Austin Hill III and wife Rebecca and their children: Thomas Austin Hill IV and wife Sammi and daughter, Violet Anne; Jackson Riley Hill and wife Kaitlyn; Harrison Carter Hill and wife Ellie of Stillwater, Oklahoma; Grace Ann Hill of Phoenix, Arizona; Preston Garrett Hill; and Christian Kimmell Hill and wife Ever.

His son David Kimmell Hill and wife Shannon and their children: David Kimmell Hill Jr. and wife Katia and their son, Alexander, of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Lauren and husband Austin and their daughter; Hunter James Hill and wife Sarah of Seattle, Washington; Tucker Filson Hill of Ewa Beach, Hawaii; Katherine Leigh Wright and husband Michael of Washington, D.C.; and Ashley Taylor Watts and husband Will of Southern Pines, North Carolina.

His daughter Karen Hill Bullard and husband Troop and their children: Tate Tinsley Bullard and wife Brooke and their son, Oliver Tinsley, of Atlanta, Georgia; Blythe Megan Evans and husband Wes and their children, Karl Asher, Blakely Elisabeth, and Luke Tinsley of Chandler, Oklahoma; Gage Thomas Bullard and wife Morgan and their children, Ransom Thomas, Erin Blaze, and Treader Michael; Bridge Carl Bullard and wife Molly and their daughter, Charlotte Louise "Charlie"; Layne Elisabeth McDuff and husband Reid and their daughter, Millie Layne; Avery Nicole Bullard; Scout Caroline Bullard and fiancé Eli Hill; and Worth Garman Bullard.

A Memorial Service will be held at 10:30 am, on November 21, at First Southern Baptist Church, 6400 S Sooner Rd, Oklahoma City, OK 73135. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to https://reachingsouls.org/