Charles Frederick Hill Jr.

From 1978 until his retirement in 2018, Dr. Hill led a well-respected obstetrics and gynecology practice in the Washington, D.C. area. Beloved by patients for his compassionate, disarming bedside manner, his most proud professional achievements were delivering multiple generations of the same family and bringing more than 2,600 babies into the world.

In his personal life, he was most proud of his three children: Charles Frederick Hill IV of Manassas, Steven Coleman Hill of Vero Beach, and Caroline Katherine Hill of Richmond. They will remember him as a loving father, kind and generous humanitarian, shameless goofball, and the king of awkward comedy.

He was born in Washington, D.C., the eldest and most mischievous of the six children of Dr. Charles Frederick Hill Sr. and Katherine Butler Hill. His siblings remember him as a brazen tormenter whose shenanigans intensified into young adulthood, when he is remembered to have totaled three cars, a motorcycle, and a street light on both Military and Reno Roads (for which his parents footed the bill). Despite the hardships they suffered at his hands, each claims that secretly “he loved me best.”

After trying out several colleges, Charlie shocked everyone by graduating from Mount St. Mary’s with an undergraduate degree. He earned his M.D. from Georgetown University in 1975 — at the top of his class in surgery and OB/GYN. He completed his training as Chief Resident at Georgetown University Hospital in 1978 and was a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology as well as the American College of Surgeons. Revered by colleagues and patients, he was never sued for medical malpractice in 40 years (very few physicians in his field can say that).

While his antics had mellowed with age, he retained a diabolical sense of humor, and used it to charm everyone he met. He was a charismatic, witty, and brutally honest man who cared an enormous amount about others, whether they were close family or a young pregnant stranger asking for money on the Metro.

Charlie liked to say he didn’t have any hobbies, just obstetrics, but that wasn’t entirely true — he loved being on the water, boating, photography, travel, Washington Capitals hockey, and he was a phenomenal skier. But ultimately none of those things brought him as much joy as being a dad, and getting to be the “stork” for thousands of other parents.

He is survived by his children; siblings Christopher G. Hill and spouse Deborah Ricciardone Hill of Nashville with their children Joshua (spouse Sarah) and Elizabeth (spouse Zachary and children Analee, Abigail, and Dominic); Katherine Hill Bahring and spouse John J. Bahring of Sterling with their children Katie (spouse David and children Aiden, Brady, and Riley Katherine) and Ian (spouse Erin and children Elijah, Ivy, and Ozzy); David M. Hill and spouse Irene Fleshner of Sarasota with their children Nick (spouse Jenifer and son James) and Lauren (spouse Will and children Ella and Whitt); Martha Hill Prokop and spouse David M. Prokop of Haymarket with their children Emilia and Remus; Mary Elizabeth (Molly) H. Stumpf and spouse Michael E. Stumpf of Alexandria with their children Christopher (spouse Sara) and Michelle (fiancé Kyle); and the many of lives he touched as a physician at Reiter, Hill & Johnson.

A visitation will be held 4-7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 19 followed by a memorial service at 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 20, both at Joseph Gawler’s Sons, 5130 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. In lieu of flowers, Charlie requests donations be made to the National Geographic Society. Everyone is welcome — we know everyone has a Charlie story, and we’d love to hear them all.