Thomas B. Hill, M.D.
East Lansing, Michigan
Tom Hill was born March 18, 1920 in Glen Ellyn, Illinois to Luther Boone and Lena Pearl McCord Hill and lived there till enrolling at the University of Chicago in 1939. His education was interrupted by World War II during which he served in the Army Air Force as a meteorologist. It was during his aviation cadet training that he met and married Josephine Todhunter Still in New York City on August 28, 1943. After the war he completed his medical training through the GI bill at the University of Chicago and did his internship at Blodgett Memorial Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was a solo general practitioner in Lowell, Michigan from 1951 to 1963 leaving to enter student health service at Michigan State University where he practiced for nineteen years at Olin Health Center. He also served as an Assistant to the Dean in the College of Human Medicine for Admissions and Student Affairs in the formative years of the medical school. In retirement he enjoyed community gardening with the Garden Project, genealogy, collecting books by Lowell authors and attending Elder Hostels. His wife of sixty-one years Josephine died in 2004. He began voice lessons in 2005 and gave many concerts for his friends at Independence Village. He is survived by his two daughters, Peggy of Grand Rapids and Merry Jo and her husband Celestino Hernandez of DeWitt. A memorial service will be held Thursday, June 27, 2:00 p.m. at Independence Village in East Lansing. The family thanks the staff of Independence Village and the caregivers of both Loving Hands Caring Hearts, and Great Lakes Caring Hospice for their loving care of our dad, Tom Hill. Memorial contributions can be made to the Garden Project or the Greater Lansing Food Bank. The family is being served by Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, East Lansing. Online condolences may be made at: www.greastlansing.com
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June 30, 2013
Dear Peggy, I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Dr. Hill was a very special man. My family an I were so grateful to have him as our Dr. in Lowell and to live across the street from us. He was always there when we needed him day or night. Please know that I am keeping you and your family in my prayers. Lloyd Wepman Aiken, SC
June 22, 2013
Although he entered my life when I was already grown and we lived far a part, I find so many good memories of my father's cousin, Tom, and his family. Among them are his and Jo's New Mexico visits to learn about family through multiple lenses: geneology, anthropological texts, novels, and sharing Merry Jo with us. Several years ago, he sent me his NM book collection after he noticed my many bookshelves. As I pass those books, I remember the times we spent together. Beyond New Mexico, one summer my husband, our two girls and I passed through Lansing and enjoyed a lovely back yard dinner with produce from their garden. We were pleased to meet Peggy at that time, and so I have images of all four of you as I pass those books. We are grateful for the additional family Tom brought to us, and send our best to you -- Anya Dozier Enos, Terry, Lisa, and Quala
June 20, 2013
Tom Hill was an inspiration to me in some significant ways. As I have no doctors in my immediate family, Tom, my father's first cousin, and my mother's uncle Bruno, a German GP, were important figures as physicians. Tom and Bruno were very different in their approach to retirement--Bruno's patients just grew fewer and fewer as he and they got older and older, whereas I remember well Tom telling me, " Medicine is a jealous mistress," and how he'd canceled all his medical journals upon his retirement. I admired the way Tom approached new things with excitement and passion. Tom and Bruno, despite their different approaches to the aging physician, were similar in some personal regards: both possessed both curiosity and equanimity toward life; a love of family connections, and a great resilience, perhaps forged in the survival of World War II, which allowed them to survive the deaths of their spouses and continue. It is good to think of them both as presenting possibilities. I'm sorry I never got to sing with Tom, and although I'm in a hiatus from my barbershop singing currently and I'm still dancing with the younger men in the pueblo and haven't joined the singers, I think this will be important to me also as I grow older. Old men singing, both of silly love, and the sacred, to me brings a promise undefinable. I remember also the pleasure my father and aunts and uncles took in Tom's interest in genealogy, and this passion makes more sense to me the older I grow. It's good at any stage of life to think of those people who have lived a good life, and Tom is one of those men I look to for my inspiration. My warmest regards to the rest of the family, and let us keep our connections strong. Migue Dozier MD, Santa Clara Pueblo, NM
June 20, 2013
Dear Peggy and Merry Jo -- Your father had a way of making people question things. He was just so curious. Best teacher in Lowell and he didn't work for the school. He encouraged my wife when she studied medicine later in life. He was a very thoughtful, generous man. A great doctor. I am very sad to hear of his loss.
Joel Thurtell, Plymouth, MI
June 17, 2013
Anne Yerger
June 16, 2013
Valerie Raymond
Dear Merry Jo,
I always think of your Dad as a kind and loving father. He was kind to me, too. When he sang at your wedding, all the love he felt for his wife and two daughters just poured from him. While this is a great loss, his life was a great gift. My heart is with you now,
Valerie
June 16, 2013
Dear Merry Jo,
I always think of your Dad as a kind and loving father. He was always kind to me, too. When he sang at your wedding, all the love he felt for your mother, and his two daughters, just poured from him. I know that while this is a terrible loss, his life was a great gift. My heart is with you now, Valerie
June 16, 2013
Wanda Dozier
I enjoyed visits from Tom and Josephine during their Elderhostel trips to Santa Fe. I wish I had know them better, sooner. The whole family has been enriched by Tom's genealogy work and it will continue to be enjoyed by many generations. My condolences to Peggy, whom I have not met yet and Merry Jo. Your cousin, Wanda
June 16, 2013
Hi Peggy
Sorry to hear of your loss. He had a long and wonderfuf life. I remember him
as a kind and very competent Physician.
John Kropf Ada MI
June 16, 2013
Hi Peggy
Sorry to hear of your loss. He had a long and wonderful life. I remember him
as a kind and very competent Physician.
John Kropf Ada MI
June 15, 2013
We met the Hills when they and we lived a couple of prefab houses apart at university after WWII. The two families settled hundreds of miles apart but continued a friendship for two-thirds of a century. They don't come any better than Jo and Tom -- and their kids.
Gene Pomerance
June 14, 2013
Cindy Russell
I always enjoyed sharing time with Merry Jo and her father. He was a very kind man. I'm glad to have known him.
June 13, 2013
Patrick McMahon
During Dr. Hill's years in Lowell I was a sickly child. I remember his office and him coming into our house, carrying his black bag and an air of competence that gave comfort even to a young kid. What an extraordinary thing to have helped thousands over the course of one's life. An enormous thanks to his family.
June 13, 2013
Steve Hill
I want to express our deepest sympathies for your loss. I remember Uncle Tom as always having that quiet humor and warm smile. I always wished as a kid I could spend more time with him. Last year he sent me a CD from one of his concerts. I had no idea what a great voice he had. He will truly be missed. Steve and Janet Hill
June 13, 2013
Bill Krapfel
The last year or so, I've taken great pleasure in listening to Uncle Tom's recitals while seated next to my Mom--who was always enraptured with her brother's eloquence and his wonderful voice.
June 12, 2013
Anne Yerger
June 12, 2013
Anne Yerger
Warm memories of my Uncle Tom!
June 12, 2013
Janet Driscoll
Our uncle was such a vibrant and engaged man. Please accept our sympathies at your loss.
Janet and Ed Driscoll
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