Bloyce Hill Britton, Jr., MD

And we thank God for the fine man, Bloyce Hill Britton, Jr., M.D., aka Hill (8/5/1934 – 11/2/2024). Born in El Paso, Texas to Bloyce Hill Britton, MD and Marjorie Sweet Britton at Hotel Dieu in 1934, Hill was third generation Britton to live in El Paso. His great uncle, Doc Britton, came to El Paso to practice medicine in 1910; his father, Bloyce joined Uncle Doc in 1929. Hill spent his first six years in El Paso; life was then interrupted by World War II, with his father becoming a Flight Surgeon in the US Army Air Corps, later the US Air Force. From 1941 to 1950, he attended various schools in California, where his father was stationed with the Western Flying Training Command.

Oklahoma was the family home. Hill returned to Ames High School, Ames, Oklahoma for his last two years of high school, 1951-1952, class size 18. He then attended and graduated with a BA from the University of Oklahoma, Norman, in 1956 and the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine with an MD degree in 1960. Following a Rotating Internship, Los Angeles County - University of Southern California, Los Angeles, he was drafted during the 1961 Berlin Crisis into the US Army Medical Corps, serving 2 years at William Beaumont Army General Hospital, Ft. Bliss, El Paso, Texas. Shortly before discharge, he met his future bride, Libby Wilson, also from El Paso where they were married. This marriage lasted sixty-one years, 1963-2024.

Hill completed a 4 year Residency at the Department of Otolaryngology, Los Angeles County - University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California in 1967, thereafter joining the Otologic Medical Group, later the House Institute in Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Ear Medical Group. These were his days of Camelot in the cutting edge of otologic surgery.

In 1981, Hill took a sabbatical from medicine and joined his brother Ron Britton in the oil business for two years in Midland, Texas. An oil business “land man”, he was not, and he returned to academic medicine, serving as Associate Professor, Section of ORL, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC (1983-1988) and Associate Professor of ORL, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (1988-1999). Retirement came in July, 1999, after treating patients for thirty-nine years.

Following retirement, Hill and Libby moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico, their place of enchantment, and then to San Antonio, Texas in 2014 to be close to family, but still maintaining second homes in Las Cruces until 2020.

In August, 2024, Hill turned ninety, having survived the pandemic without ever contracting Covid. Following a short hospital stay and returning home for Hospice, he passed away on November 2, 2024. He lived life on his terms to the end, with minimal medical intervention.

Hill was an intelligent, honest, hardworking, sensitive and reliable man, “measured”, as a friend described him. As an early microscopic surgeon of the inner ear, he possessed exceptional motor skills, which served his patients well. At home he had the ability and patience to fix anything, mechanical or otherwise, and delighted in finding practical solutions to problems. He was a wonderful companion, a quiet father to his four children and had a good heart. He loved photography, his computer, music, keeping up with family traditions, tinkering in the yard with his plants, and was always experimenting in search of the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever! As someone said, he “had the right stuff”!

He is survived by his wife of sixty-one years, Libby Wilson Britton, younger brother, Ronald Arlen Britton – Austin, Texas, three children: Marjorie Andersohn – Denver, Colorado, Bloyce Hill Britton, III, DDS (Edie) – San Antonio, Texas, and James Wilson Britton – Charlotte, North Carolina and five grandchildren:

Jack Andersohn, Sage Andersohn, Hill Britton, Spencer Britton and Brie Marie Britton. He was preceded in death by his son, Ronald Scott Britton.

A Celebration of Life for the immediate family will be held at Ft. Bliss National Cemetery, El Paso, Texas and Las Cruces, New Mexico in late spring or early summer, 2025.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Hill Britton to the House Institute Foundation, 1127 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1620, Los Angeles, CA 90017, https://hifla.org.