Alvin HILL

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HILL: Alvin James Hill (1922-2010). Alvin James “Al” Hill. Beloved husband, father, and grandfather. Born on August 18, 1922 in Kenton, Manitoba, Al was the youngest of three children born to Mary Elizabeth (English) and John Thomas Hill. In his early life, he began a life-long passion for the violin and helped out on his parents’ farm, four miles from Kenton. Always one with a sharp mind and a desire to learn, Al received his early schooling in Harding and Kenton later training as a radio operator at the Radio College of Canada in Toronto. A veteran of the Second World War, he served the first half of the war with the Merchant Navy and later transferred to the Royal Air Force Ferry Command. During these years, he acted as a radio operator assisting in the movement of war supplies across great distances. A wonderful storyteller who rarely forgot the name of a person or details of an event, he often talked about his time at his posting in Nassau, the Bahamas, and the perilous trips he made to England, Egypt, and Asia while moving food supplies, munitions, artillery pieces, tanks, crated war planes and soldiers. Following his service in the war, he returned to the family farm but then left to attend the University of Manitoba, where he graduated with a commerce degree. He and his wife Dorothy Jean (Dodds) of Virden, whom he married on January 25, 1943, then spent time in Montreal and Toronto before Al attended Brandon University to obtain his teaching certification. After teaching in the village of Margaret (1956-1960), he began a 21-year career as an educator at Killarney Collegiate where he taught a number of subjects including history and math. Al was an administrator as well as a teacher and acted as vice-principal from 1962-1975. Respected and remembered by many students and parents, he was known for his intelligence, patience, kindness, and dry sense of humour. His retirement in 1983 was spent in Killarney with his wife Dorothy who died on October 25, 1996. It was one of Al’s greatest wishes to remain in Killarney, his “little-bit-of-heaven-on- earth,” where he spent many happy years with his wife Mary after their marriage on December 14, 1997 at the Waskada United Church. He and Mary, however, relocated in 2008 to Victoria Landing in Brandon for health reasons. Their move to Victoria Landing began a new chapter in Al’s life and he and Mary were fortunate to forge many new friendships during this time. A member of the Killarney United Church, Al enjoyed quiet pastimes including reading and gardening. He continued to practice the violin later in his life and took great pleasure in dancing and traveling with his wife Mary. A family man, he also enjoyed following the lives and hockey careers of his grandchildren. Predeceased by his parents, first wife Dorothy, brother Arnold, sister Ellen Gould, brother-in-law Stanley Gould, and sister-in-law Isabelle Hill, he is survived by his second wife Mary, two children Elizabeth “Beth” and James “Jim,” son-in-law Bine Ramsden, daughter-in-law Theresa O’Brien, and four grandchildren: Luke Hill and Triston, Sarah, and Jesse Ramsden. On July 6, 2010, he died peacefully at Brandon Regional Health Centre. A private funeral was later held at Rosewood Memorial Gardens on July 15, 2010 with his nephew Earl Gould officiating and his eldest grandchild Triston Ramsden acting as urn bearer. The family would like to thank Brockie Donovan Funeral Directors for assisting with the funeral arrangements. Memorial donations may be made to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Manitoba, Unit 5B, 457-9th Street, Brandon, Manitoba, R7A 4A9.

As published in Brandon Sun on Aug 21, 2010