Howard P. Hill

Howard P. Hill July 4, 1929 -December 26, 2018A great husband, father and friend to everyone he met, died in his retirement city of Sun City West, AZ. on December 26, 2018.Howard P. Hill was born on the 4th of July in 1929, and every birthday thereafter for 89 Years, parades and fireworks were the icing on his cake.After graduating from the University of Chicago and serving in the U.S. Army as a 2nd lieutenant, Howard hit a home run when he met and married Joan Spencer of Racine. The couple set up shop there and raised 3 sons: Jeffrey, Stanford, and Tyler. Howard spent 37 years at Western Publishing while Joan worked as an Occupational Therapist and then later as a multi-media artist. Howard took up jogging decades before it was popular, jogging enough miles to circle the globe 5 times (he kept track). He passed along his love of fitness, sports and the outdoors, especially hunting and fishing, to his sons. The family's pop-up trailer and the Racine YMCA's summer camp, Anokijig, were practically 2nd homes. "Anokijig" is a Native American word meaning "we serve;' and serve he did, spending years as a board member for the camp, the YMCA, the Racine Curative Workshop and the North Shore Athletic Club of Racine.After retiring to Sun City West, Howard served on the Board of Directors of the Bocce Club and played for 10 years, winning the Tri-City Championship twice. Howard and Joan were members of several gourmet clubs, and his second homes" in Sun City West, were the library, where he was a World War I buff, and the rec centers.Howard was the consummate host, throwing frequent parties with Joan, entertaining at the drop of a hat. In the days before cell phones, if you couldn't find your doctor, lawyer, judge, newspaper editor, city official, athletic coach or plumber, it was a good bet you'd find them at the Hills.Howard is mourned by his family and many friends. As Joan his loving wife of 65 years sorrowfully put it, "I've lost the wind beneath my wings." The family takes strength, however, in the knowledge that he first taught us to soar.