David, Jr. and Suzanne have already talked about the fact that their dad was "a good dad".  From the day that I married Jim he was also a good dad to me.  I was not treated as a daughter in law but simply as a daughter.   I never heard him raise his voice in 35 years unless he was mad about OU football!  He loved animals and would go with us to the zoo anytime.  In order to pursue his engineering career he lived in many different places as his children were growing up but always seemed to end up back in Oklahoma.  He kept his house in Edmond even when he was working in other states. When our daughter, Jamie, was 5 years old he was living in Florida and we had a chance to visit there and go to Busch Gardens and Disney World.  Good memories!  I do think he would have stayed forever in California though if it were not so expensive!  He definitely loved living there and spending time with his cousins and living on the beach.   I had a great time going through all of the pictures of my father in law, new and old, and I felt like I knew him even better through the process of choosing the ones to include in the video.  I hope that I did him justice in the celebration of his 85. years of a life well lived.  

Imagine this, my brother and I are 16+ years apart in life, but we attended the same University, the University of Oklahoma, and, most amazingly, had the exact same Calculus professor, Dr.  T.K. Pan. Dr. Pan’s secret of success was making students work out problems on the chalkboard in front of the class. It could be very apparent and embarrassing if you had not done your homework the night before. But, both David and I, did well under Dr. Pan, even when the problems were astronomically difficult, because the latter always put the student first. And, I have to say, that I felt pressure to do well in Dr. Pan’s classes because my brother David had been in his classes many years before. And, it was the one class, where I was very popular when I left the calculus classroom each day being surrounded by other students who wanted help in the class, many of whom were foreign students. It felt good to be a rock-star in calculus! I guess I have my brother, David, to thank partially and indirectly for that status.

Tommy Hill, David, James and I went to the Game of the Century in Norman, between O.U. and Nebraska, on a very cold Thanksgiving Day. After eating a Turkey and trimmings picnic under frigid conditions at Konawa Lake, we traveled over to Norman, Owen Field, to attend the game. We watched the camera man suspended from a large crane over the field in order to get pictures of the game, and they would regularly lower him so he could get warm between camera shots.Our seats were in the North End Zone where we could watch the Sooner Schooner come out of the tunnel onto the field and go back again after each score. We watched the famous Johnny Rogers ‘throw-up’ run that would wind up winning the game for Nebraska, as he ran right past most of the Oklahoma players on his way to a touchdown.  But we shared a moment that day on all the many football games and how glorious the games were, even in the frigid cold.  I later carried the music sheet, and held it up above the horn, for David to play the coronet in the Alumni Marching Band one of those football games. So, I got to march with the band down the field and sit in the south end zone for that game. The Hill family has more than its share of Sooner Fans, I must say, even those living in Texas. Once, we got to attend an O.U.-Texas Cotton Bowl game, courtesy of my Uncle Orris, who bought the expensive tickets to the game.  I could never quite understand why Texans would never acknowledge they lost a game, even when they did. However, I did note that O.U.-Texas fans usually came early, but about half did not stay late, as the saying goes, depending on who was winning. Many the times over the years when the fans wished they had not left early. When the games were tied near the end in the early years before overtime, everyone stayed late. It was like kissing your sister, I am told, the times the game ended in a tie, but winners usually went on to win out  their games. David, for all those games we watched together,   thanks!

One HUGE similarity that I MUST bring up is: It’s SO easy to see where my love for music came from – dad LOVED up-tempo country and Gospel music! That MAY sound a little familiar to those of you who know me! :) I so fondly remember dad singing “The Wreck of the Old 97”, followed by “Daily Walking Close To Thee” – GREAT memories! I chose the pic of Dad’s Stratophone guitar because I want to be clear – when I say dad liked up-tempo country and Gospel, I want you to know, Dad ALWAYS played “plugged in”! :) Another thing we had in common was trusting Jesus as our Savior. When Kat and I got through “sowing our wild oats”, so to speak, we joined a church that stressed how Biblically solid, and absolutely TRUTHFUL belief in Jesus as the only way to Heaven is. As a result, we talked to all our loved ones about this truth. I pulled Dad aside in 2006, and he assured me he understood that Jesus was the Way, the Truth, and the Life – AWESOME stuff, I KNOW where my Dad is, and he’s waiting for me! And last, but certainly not least, Dad always had LARGE, OBNOXIOUS dogs! And he ADORED them! Sound familiar?! :) Thank you all for your prayers and support, I can’t say enough about how I have drawn strength from you! I’ll close with this, and I mean it from my heart:
I love you, Dad! I hope I made you proud.
Rest in peace.

 When I think about my dad, I can’t help but think of how hard he worked to keep a roof over our heads and food in the pantry and fridge. From my memories of dad’s conversations with my mom, I also know he cared very much about his co-workers, and he cared about the quality of his work. At this point, I would like to say a HUGE thank-you to my employer and especially my boss, Tom (also my Brother in Christ) for allowing me to take some time off to deal with this event. I’m grateful for the time I got to spend with my sweet wife Kathy, my brother, Jim, and his sweet wife Debbie. I love y’all more than you’ll ever know! :) During this last week, we got a chance to go through some pics and other mementos of dad’s life. As I was going through the pictures and artifacts of dad’s life, it struck me how much like him I am. Dad was, like me, born in Wewoka, OK. Like me, he became an engineer. Like me, he fought hard to make his way in a profession dominated by people with college degrees despite having only a high school education. A large part of that struggle was to achieve a recognition that would afford him the respect he was due in his profession. For dad, that pinnacle was his certification as a Professional Engineer, which he doggedly pursued until he finally “passed the test”. My dad was a Professional Engineer! For me, it was getting my Associate’s Degree in Engineering. I’m proud to share my dad’s dogged pursuit of perfection in his profession, and desire to provide the best living he could for his family. My sweet sister, Tuzie (I don’t care HOW old you get, Suzanne, you’ll always be Tuzie to me! :) ) put it best, she said “he was a good dad” – I HOPE someone says that about me someday! (continued next page)

to continue...
No cheating, no stealing, no lying. Except, APPARENTLY, April Fool's jokes. Still a bit unclear on that one, Dad. I told him that in later years and he just clamped down on that cigar, grinned and did his trademark, "hehehe."  I love my Dad. He was a good Dad. I will miss him until we're together again.

Dad played guitar. He also played the cornet and the piano. Growing up, we always had music. Some nights, Dad would sing us to sleep. Dave, I remember "The Wreck of the Old 97." Remember "The Bird of Paradise?" I always requested "Ghost Riders." He would play us Elvis, Buddy Holly, Buck Owens, any country song. He would play "Peggy Sue" to Mom and make us giggle. He sang hymns and I loved to hear "The Old Rugged Cross" and what I called the Lighthouse song.  Dad had a great sense of humor. My first experience with April Fool's jokes was all Dad. We lived in Jacksonville and had a palm tree out front. Dad always called it the banana tree. On April first, Dad came hollering through the house for us to get up and come see because the banana tree had bananas! We were so excited and ran out to see...nothing. Except Dad standing there laughing and laughing. FYI, Mom was laughing, too. This of course led to a discussion of the difference between April Fool's jokes and telling whoppers. Still not totally clear on that one, Dad. We all loved to go to the OKC Zoo with Dad. I remember going to see the snow leopards and he was walking a bit ahead of me. He turned around and asked "You know why they call them snow leopards, Suze?" "No Dad, why?" 'Cause there'sno leopards there!" They had removed them from those cages. Dad joke. I remember Dad and his buddies studying hard to pass that engineering exam. It took a lot of hard work, but we were all so proud of him when he got that P.E. after his name. I also know he was proud of his sons, that you could all speak engineering together.  I loved it when we could all get together and Dad and his boys would play and sing. Happy times! I know he was proud of your musical abilities as well Brother Dave and Brother Jim.  Dad didn't drink to excess, carouse or hang out in the pool hall. He worked hard and came home to his family. We got our work ethic from Mom and Dad; none of us are shirkers.  [continued, I hope  no more space allowed]

OBITUARY

David Lee Hill

7 February, 1936 – 12 March, 2021

Baggerley Funeral Home

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