ELLA IDA HILL (SINGBUSH)

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ELLA IDA HILL (nee SINGBUSH) Ella Hill died on August 11, 2001 at the age of 97. Her parents, Jacob and Leisha Singbush emigrated in 1890 from a German enclave on the Dniepr River, near the village of Schitlova, Russia. They left in resistance to Tzarist oppression; accepting the promise of the Canadian government and the railways of a better life in Canada. It was a promise that was eventually fulfilled, but only after much struggle and hardship. The couple and their children made their first home on Flora Avenue, a few blocks north of the CPR tracks. On May 14, 1904, Ella was born into a family which would eventually number 11 children. In spite of very modest circumstances, the family was a happy one with a merry, mischievous father and a firm, energetic mother. Ella attended Aberdeen School, was confirmed in the First Lutheran Church on Dufferin Avenue and spent much time at the Stella Mission. She desperately wanted to be a nurse, but circumstances would not allow it and she entered the retail clothing business. It was a career she came to love, beginning as a "ribbon" clerk at the Gerry Robinson store on Main and Bannatyne. For fifty years she was an outstanding saleswoman and manager, retiring at age 73. In her twenties, she met and married Charles "Charlie" Hill, himself the son of a German family who had fled Russia and settled in the Whitemouth area. Charlies work took the couple to Regina in the 1930s, through depression and drought; back to Winnipeg during the War years; then to Calgary in the late 1940s as it first emerged as a major city; and finally to Vancouver where her beloved Charlie died in 1963. Throughout her busy life, her love and first concern were always for her family. She and Charlie were immensely proud of their children Marlene and Norman. Ella was also very close to her sisters and brothers, their children, and her indomitable mother, whose house on Charles Street was a family haven through many tough years. Ella was an indulgent and kindly grandmother and great-grandmother. Her children and grandchildren can attribute to Ellas vision much of the success they have achieved in medicine, law, business, art and architecture. She was a gifted athlete - excelling in baseball, golf and bowling. Ella loved to dance and to attend parties and to play cards. No matter where she lived, in the summer she would return to Grand Beach in the glorious days of the Dance Hall, the Boardwalk and the Caterers Picnic, creating memories and traditions for her family that remain a source of joy today. Ella was her own woman: a mixture of determination, energy and love. Her greatest sorrows were the deaths of Charlie, her granddaughter Elizabeth and her daughter Marlene. Many will miss Ella: Her sister Elsie Hill (nee Singbush) her son, Dr. Norman Hill and his wife Bess; grandchildren, Averie Hill McNary, Kym Hill, David Hill, Shauna Mallory-Hill, Susan Lea, Richard Lea, Norman Lea and their spouses and partners; her 11 great-grandchildren; the families of Bruce and Margaret Hill, Robert and Pat Hill, Gerald and Joan Kremer, Hazel and Bert Delcloo and many other nephews, nieces, cousins and friends. Rev. Terry Hidichuk will preside at a memorial service, to be held in Thomson Funeral Chapels, 669 Broadway on Tuesday, August 14 at 11:00 a.m. Many thanks to the staff at Meadowood Manor for the fine care they gave to Ella. In lieu of floral tributes, a donation to a charity of choice is suggested. "There is sweet music there that softer falls Than petals from blown roses on the grass, Or night-dews on still waters between walls Of shadowy granite, in a gleaming pass; Music that gentler on the spirit lies, Than tired eyelids upon tired eyes; Music that brings sweet sleep down from the blissful skies..."

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Aug 13, 2001