Eileen D Hills

Eileen Hills

Born – May 26, 1926

Lambeth, London, England

Passed Away – March 27, 2022

Charlottesville, Virginia

Eileen Dora (Kinnell) Hills was born on May 26, 1926, in Lambeth, London to Edward and Florence (Fry) Kinnell. She grew up and attended school in the Wimbledon/Merton area of southwest London. During World War II, Eileen served in Great Britain’s Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) from 1943-1946. She married Denis Hills on January 10, 1947 and lived in the Eastcote/Northwood Hills area of Middlesex (Northwest London). After their children were in school, she worked part-time at the local primary school in Northwood Hills. In 1964, she and Denis decided to emigrate to the United States where Denis was employed by the Physics Department at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia and Eileen worked as a Data Entry Clerk at the University of Virginia Medical Center.

She was known for knitting different animals, team mascots, and book characters such as Peter the Rabbit. She would knit these stuffed creatures all year and then sell them as a fund raising activity for the Civitan Club of Charlottesville, which is an organization known for supporting people with developmental disabilities. After retirement, Eileen joined a bowling league and played weekly until the age of 90.

She belonged to the Transatlantic Brides and Parents Association and made many friends throughout Virginia when she attended other regional clubs and especially enjoyed attending the annual conventions somewhere in the United States. One such event was held on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California which included a number of women attending who had sailed to the US on the ship on its first Atlantic crossing after World War II, after it was converted back from a troop ship to a passenger liner.

Eileen will be greatly missed by her family and friends, and the staff at Linden House where she lived for the last three and a half years. Eileen is survived by her husband Denis, also of Linden House, Charlottesville, VA; two sons, Peter (Renee) Applegate, CA, and Keith of Charlottesville; two grandchildren, Kimberly (Mark) Callaghan, Rapid City, SD, and Andrew (Whittney) of Ladera Ranch, CA; and six great grandchildren, May, Brendan, and Ruth Callaghan, and Mason, Owen, and Dylan Hills.

Eileen was preceded in death by her parents Edward and Florence Kinnell, her sister Joan Rumbellow of Buxton, Derbyshire, England, and her niece, Janet Jones, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England.

For anyone wishing to donate, the family requests that they choose their favorite charity in memory of Eileen. Condolences may be shared with the family at www.teaguefuneralhome.com.