John was born June 13, 1945 in Danbury, CT to the late John Hill Sr. and Kathryn (McCabe) Hill. He graduated from Central Catholic High in 1963 and worked for Castro Convertible before enlisting in the United States Marine Corps in Sept 1965.
John completed his basic training at Paris Island, South Carolina and infantry training at Camp Geiger, North Carolina. He attended basic helicopter school at the Naval Air Technical Training Command in Memphis, Tennessee and was then assigned to the Marine Corps Air Station in Santa Ana, California for additional training. He was deployed to Vietnam in December 1966 where he proudly served his country as a Helicopter Crew Chief and Aerial Gunner with Squadron HMM 363, the Lucky Red Lions during the Vietnam War for 13 months. John returned from Vietnam in December of 1967 and proudly served the duration of his time in the Marine Corps stateside with the Marine Air Group 26, Headquarters Maintenance Squadron 26 at New River Air Station in North Carolina. Sergeant Hill was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in September 1969. He received the Purple Heart, Combat Air Crew Wings, 17 Air Medals, Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnamese Service Metal with 3 stars, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross, the Vietnamese Campaign Medal and numerous silver and gold stars.
John was employed by UPS as a driver for 36 years until retiring in June of 2005 where he made many lifelong friends.
John married his soulmate, Shirley Hue Hill in 1973 and they recently celebrated 51 years of marriage. He was the proud father to his 2 daughters, Susan Hill and Michelle Jewell. He loved going on family vacations to Lake George, Ocean City, and Rhode Island and was always the first to suggest riding the roller coasters with his adoring children. One of papa's greatest joys was taking his grandkids on adventures, especially tractor rides on his John Deere making them smile and giggle.
His hobbies included target shooting with his family and friends, watching Nascar races and cheering on Dale Jarrett and Kyle Larson, making sure his home and landscape kept up with the Jones’ and spending quality time with his family. His day would not be complete without his daily run to Dunkin Donuts for coffee.
Being the selfless man that he was, John spent a lot of time volunteering especially with his military community. He co-chaired the Vietnam Memorial Committee to honor the men and women who lost their lives in the Vietnam War. Their vision can be admired by the community in the beautiful tribute that is the Vietnam Memorial in Roger’s Park. He was the past Marine Corps League Commandant, past Veterans Council President and Recording Secretary, Chairman of the Danbury Memorial Day Parade for 7 years, and Life Members of the VFW Post #149, Catholic War Veterans Post #1049 and Marine Corps League Hat City Detachment.
John is survived by his beloved wife, Shirley; his 2 loving daughters: Susan Hill of Danbury and her son, Xander; Michelle Jewell of New Milford and her husband, Kevin, and their 2 children Jakob and Nora.
He was predeceased by his sister, Kathryn (Hill) Barton. He also leaves behind his brother-in-law, Harold Barton, of Danbury; his sister-in-law, Diane Ralph, of Brookfield and several nieces and nephews and their children.
He was the most wonderful, caring and selfless man you could ever meet, and would give anyone the shirt off his back, but most importantly the best husband, father and papa we could have ever asked for. He was truly one of a Few Good Men.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 at St. Gregory the Great Church, Danbury, CT. Burial with military honors will follow in St. Peter Cemetery, Danbury, CT.
Friends will be received from 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025 at the Green Funeral Home, 57 Main St., Danbury, CT.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in John’s memory to Regional Hospice and Homecare of Western CT, 30 Milestone rd., Danbury, CT 06810; the Marine Corps League Hat City Detachment, c/o Mosher, Unit 14, 1 Beaver Brook Rd., Danbury, CT 06810 or St. Gregory the Great Church, 85 Great Plain Rd.,Danbury, CT 06811
