Freddie Evadne Hill

At the tender age of three (3) weeks, her Mother took her to Forlah, Central Province, a rural town 150 miles from Monrovia where she went to serve as a missionary for Youth Mission of Life. It was there with her Mother that Freddie began to learn at a very young age to deeply love and respect everyone. She often recounted how, at the age of four (4), after laughing at a physically disabled young man, her mother disciplined her so sternly that she developed a love and respect for those less fortunate than she. Freddie would grow up to become a champion of children and develop a deep, unselfish love for people that has been felt by the countless number of people in her life.

While on the mission with her mother, Freddie honed her God-given teaching talent and skills under the tutelage of her Mother, a trained educator, beginning a teaching career at a very young age. She used that skill very proficiently over the years wherever she lived and worked. Freddie also learned how to beautifully play the accordion, playing for church services and other events.

Freddie graduated High School from the American Correspondence High School, Lansing, Illinois in 1973. She enrolled in the University of Liberia in March 1973 where she obtained her Bachelors Degree in Sociology in December 1976. It was while she was a student at the University of Liberia that she befriended and was befriended by several young women who became her life-long sister-friends.

In 1977, she was employed by the Ministry of Justice and worked in the Criminal Justice System. Later that year, she traveled to the USA for criminal justice training. While at the Ministry of Justice, a friend introduced her to a young man, James Richards (Bush) Hill, who immediately fell in love with her. He soon realized that Freddie was not the run-of-the-mill young woman and, as he often recounts, was warned by his Mother that Freddie was not to be toyed with. To protect him, his two Uncles sent him to the Department of Public Works where her Uncles worked and he says when he saw those two “giants”, he knew he could not “fool around with her”. He also realized the Lord had answered his prayer to send him a good woman.

In August 1979, Freddie again traveled to the USA to begin her Masters Degree in Special Education in Oregon. James followed in 1980 and on September 6th, they were joined in Holy Matrimony. Needless to say, life in the USA was a challenge for them but with their faith in God and their deep love for each other, they persevered and she graduated in 1981. When James decided to join the US Army a few years later, Freddie was his most avid supporter. She too “joined” the military as a military wife and she and their two (2) children, Tshekedi and Maima, were “deployed” and traveled everywhere with him. James gives her all the credit for his twenty (20) years of a successful career in the Army.

Freddie made friends everywhere she went. Her cooking, baking, and entertaining skills were known and enjoyed by people of all walks of life. James is sure her Sock-It-To-Me and pineapple upside down cakes won the hearts of Generals who pardoned his missteps as long as they knew “Miss Freddie” would bake them one of her famous cakes. She freely shared her talents, her love and her friendship with everyone in her life. Up until the end, her home was a refuge for many, a place of fellowship and joy. Her generosity knew no bounds. She was so determined to continue to share her love that she began to teach James how to cook and bake.

Freddie loved the Lord! Even as her health began to fail, she never lost her faith in the Lord. As she endured years of necessary medical treatments, her deep faith and trust in the Lord were a testimony of His sustaining power and caused many to build up their faith and trust in the Lord. Every morning, when she could, she sent out messages of encouragement, love, peace, and hope to so many! It was a ministry that touched many hearts and often came just when one needed it the most. For the last eight (8) years, Freddie, in spite of her own health needs, did her best to care for her aged mother. She moved from Virginia to North Carolina to be close to her and oversee her care. There are no words to describe how much Freddie will be missed!

On October 23, 2024 in the early afternoon, her Savior called her home to her well-deserved rest! She will be greatly missed but she fought a good fight, she finished her course and now she is gone to receive the crown laid up in Heaven for her.

Freddie was preceded in death by her father, Honorable Counselor M. Fulton W. Yancy, mother, Mary L. Flemister Grey in May 2024, 2 beautiful babies, Calisuwa and Zwannah, 2 siblings, her Uncle Bobby (Joy), and Uncle Jimmy (Miama).

Left to mourn her passing are: her beloved and devoted husband, her “Only Only”, her “Ooftie” of 44 years, Master Sergeant James Richards (Bush) Hill, son, Tshekedi (Jasmei), daughter, Maima, 3 grandchildren, Denver, Denihm, and Tshekedi Junior (TJ, “Boogus Man”), step father, Bishop Curtis Grey, step mother, Bartu Dorley, several siblings: Elizabeth, Fulton III, Fatima (Hansen), Richard (Kaymah), Vashti, Bindu, Francis (Carrie), George (Beatrice), Adanna (Elizabeth), Mansfield, Georgette (Alpha), Sarah (S.E.), Isaiah, Olive, and Peace; aunts and uncles: Sarah Elizabeth (S.E.) Yancy, Anthony Raymond; Flemisters: Joyce, Emma (Frank), Ernestein (Clifford), Augusta (Harold), Helen, and Clifton (Abeoseh); “adopted” siblings, a host of cousins and many close friends in the USA, Europe, and Liberia, West Africa. We loved her dearly, but her Lord and Savior loved her most!

Written in love,

The Family