Ophelia Hill

Ophelia “Feya” Hill, aged 92, died on July 13, 2022 at 3:33 AM in West Sacramento, California. Resting

peacefully surrounded by family in her youngest daughter’s home, Ophelia received her wings and

ascended to the Heavens to join her Father after a brief battle with cancer.

Born on November 9, 1929 to Della and Ramsome Hicks in Norfolk, Virginia, Grandma Hill—the youngest

of 10 immediate siblings and many other adopted brother and sisters—moved north with her parents to

Hartford, Connecticut. The goal was to find a more advantageous way of life. That was eventually

achieved buy not without the family experiencing their fair share of adversity and discrimination. While

in Virginia, Grandma found solace in school. She almost always had straight A’s, yet affording clothes for

her education proved difficult. So, she dropped out to focus on finding work in high school. And in spite

of the insurmountable roadblocks she encountered, Grandma, steadfast in her resolve like she always

was, carved out her own space, working as a nurses aid at the State Hospital then later as a housekeeper

at a local hotel before landing a stable a gig at the United State Postal Service in Hartford. She poured

blood, sweat, and tears into this job for almost 15 years. Proudly, she retired on January 8, 1977. She

was the proto-essential worker we now applaud, a necessary component for both the government and

our family’s machine to function. After the passing of her beloved mother Della and George S. Jones the

father of her children, in 1981 she traveled to California hoping the Golden Coast would ease the pain.

It did. Yeah, she missed the east, but she gained—and found—new family in the sunshine state.

Grandma was a powerful, emotive, soulful vocalist. The kind you’d probably hear on a jazz record in

front of some smooth piano and simple drums and soft horns. She was also a devote Christian, and

combined her faith and pipes in the 24th Street Baptist Church choir for a number of years. She was a

social butterfly, too, forever mingling long after the services ended because she enjoyed making new

friends and meeting new people. And you could tell she did by the big smile she wore on her face and

they ways she glowed once she got back home.

Grandma loved sweet potatoes. She recalled the joys of making them in a fire’s ashes with her siblings,

a nice treat after a hard day of fieldwork during her childhood. Sweet potatoes were a prominent

fixture in her house, appearing in hearty Sunday dinners and loving Thanksgiving feasts. The earthy and

nutty potato was the link connecting her back to her southeastern roots. And whenever home called

loud enough, she’d jump a plane for her summer East Coat Retreats to visit as many family members as

she could in a two-to-three-month getaway. Family was always important to her. She may not have

been the perfect provider, but she did as mush as she could within her power to help those in need. Her

house was everyone’s house. And like the meaning of her nickname Feya, she was truly a fairy to all,

illuminating the path so that we may find our way.

Married and widowed a total of three times, Ophelia Hill is survived by her only living brother, Robert

“Bear” L. Hathaway, her three children - Richard H. Cooper, Sheila M. Jones-Wilkins, and Shirley L.

Winslow - 13 grandchildren (Christian Cooper, Brandy L. Cooper, Paige A. Cooper, Miles J. Cooper, Chloe

O. Cooper, LaTasha R. Winslow, Marcus B. Winslow, Jeremy K. Winslow, Rotell “Johnathan” Wilkins,

Victoria M. Wilkins, Eric V. Wilkins, Erica N. Wilkins, and Maya C. Wilkins), and nine great grandchildren

(Chad Cooper, Brittany Cooper, Callie Rae Rivera, Tre’Von L. Johnson, Desi’Ree E. Crump, Ma’Kaiya

Beavers, Aliyana N. Winslow, Layla M. Wilkins, and Shiloh A. Wilkins). Even though she only had three

children there is a long list of her children’s friends and family friends that called her Mom. She is

preceded in death by her siblings, including Annie Mae Hicks-Randolph, Charles “Uncle Son” T. Hicks,

Celestia “Babe” Hicks-Manley, Doretha “Doe” Hicks, Louise Hicks-Byrd, Vernice Hicks-Conway,

Pocahontas “Pokie” Hicks-Moody, William “Bowtie” F. Hicks, and Willie Lee “Cag” Hicks, among others.

A Poem For Grandma...

Dearest Grandma

There are times when you come to mind and i just breakdown and cry.

Like weeping and sobbing and hyperventilating

The inconsolable, uncontrollable kinda crying you can't wind down from.

I mean you're gone now…really gone now…

and all that's on my mind now is what we've done.

Me angering you so much you cussed without hesitation (i'm pretty sure it was "shit").

You beating my ass on multiple occasions tryna teach me "lessons" (i was an unruly kid).

You suppressing my ways of expressing (yet there are things i wish you knew i did).

Me rebelling in spite of your yelling (and always getting punished for how i lived).

//

Yeah this all sounds kinda bad.

Sure some of our past was kinda bad.

But despite how often we made each other mad

The love i've come to know that you showed was unconditional.

Because you saved me…literally saved me when i was little…

Because you drove me to band practice in elk grove.

Because you danced to a song on a guitar a friend and i stole.

Because you used your faith to inspire me to chase after my goals.

Because you were the light illuminating and warming my abyssal middle.

//

After nine decades you finally get some much-needed rest.

It wasn't much but two decades with you makes me feel blessed.

The heart in my chest is a little heavier now that you're no longer here

But i know you're forever near. none of us ever have to look that far for you.

You're in the room. you're the flowers that bloom. you're the sun, the stars, the moon.

You're everything i am and all that we are and anything in between which is why i won't miss you.

Because i can feel you…truly feel you all around me…

My dearest grandma you shaped me into exactly who I need to be.

I'm glad i could be there for the end and though i don't wanna lose you, i know i have to…

//

So i'll see you when i see you.

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