Gloria Marie Hill

Born Gloria Marie Gleiforst in Santa Monica, California, Gloria grew up in West Lost Angeles, attended UCLA’s University Elementary School, University High and UCLA, where she received her degree in Geography in February 1946. She was tall and blond with striking good looks and an athletic body that served her well in ice skating, swimming, tennis, basketball and fencing. She spent many hours cultivating he tan, much prized in those days, and in her late years paid the price with skin problems.

Following graduation, Gloria tried to enter the airline industry, but wound up working full-time for Yosemite Park and Curry Company in Yosemite National Park. She would later remember with great fondness such events as the Fireball at Glacier Point and the marvelous breakfasts at the Ahwahnee Hotel. She married and had two children, Deborah and Diana, but the marriage did not last and in 1951 she returned to Los Angeles and began working in the Public Information Office at UCLA. There she was introduced to the new Assistant to the Chancellor, Richard Hill. They were married in October, 1953, and embarked on a long and happy union blessed with two more daughters, Katherine and Jennifer.

Gloria loved travel and adventure. Her life was filled with them. After working at the University of California for ten years, Dick entered the corporate world to begin a career that would see the couple and their children crisscross the county as transfers moved them to the east coast, Arizona, Minnesota, and Texas before settling into their first retirement home in Eugene, Oregon. They made their first cruise, to the Caribbean on Royal Caribbean, in 1985, but put that aside in favor of a second home in Rancho Mirage, California, until the early 2000’s. During the 1990’s they enjoyed extensive driving trips throughout Europe and North America, covering most of both continents.

In 2006 they moved again, to Trilogy at Redmond Ridge, near Redmond, Washington to be near Debbie and Jennie. They returned to cruising and sailed the world over. They had yet another sailing planned when Gloria suffered a heart attack early in 2017.

Gloria loved sports, especially tennis, golf and football, and she watched them avidly on TV when she could no longer play. Gloria was a fierce competitor, and a motto that she always stood by was Winston Churchill’s: “Never, never, never give up”. Her determination and grit served her well to the very end, and was admired by all in her family.

She also loved animals, and was a doting master to her string of standard poodles and a frequent contributor to causes supporting animal welfare. She adored high style, as her closetful of lovely clothes and elegant shoes testify. She also was proud of her garden, with its peonies, rhododendrons and roses, and was planning new looks there almost to the last.

She is survived by her loving husband of 63 years, her daughters Deborah Hill, Diana Torres and Jennifer Knapp, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild, and by her beloved standard poodle Reggie. Services are private, and in lieu of flowers people are urged to contribute to Doctors Without Border or the ASPCA.