Jay L. Hill

Jay L. Hill was born April 19, 1927 in Hominy, Oklahoma. He was the son of Jacob and Leora (Lacey) Hill. Jay attended his early education in Hominy and then moved with his family to Boston Pool in rural Osage County, near Cleveland where he attended the remainder of his elementary education. The family later moved to Cleveland in the late 1930's where Jay attended junior high and later Cleveland High School. Prior to his senior year in high school, Jay enlisted in the war effort in the United States Navy and was assigned to active duty on June 4, 1945. Petty Officer Hill was on his way to Japan on a troop carrier when Japan surrendered to the allied forces in August of 1945. Jay continued to serve in the Navy for a few months before being honorably discharged and returning to Cleveland on July 9, 1946. He completed his education upon his return, graduating from Cleveland High School in 1947.

Jay was married to Mary F. Ditto on February 27, 1947 in Russell, Kansas and the couple made their home in Cleveland, Oklahoma raising two sons, Robert Jay and Richard Lynn. After graduation, Jay worked for Frank Moore in the plastic and cleaning business for a couple of years before starting work on the pipeline. He was employed for a couple of years for Great Lakes Pipeline Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma and then for the Kerr-McGee Refinery in Cleveland for a short time. During this time in the early 1950's, Jay served on the Cleveland Board of Education and also coached Cleveland Little League Baseball for a few years.

Jay later joined the Pipeliners Union, Local 798 in Tulsa where he remained active in the pipeline construction industry as a welder and later as an inspector for over thirty-five years, traveling throughout the United States on jobs. Jay retired in 1992 but has remained an active member of Local 798 until the time of his death.

Jay was a member of the First Christian Church in Cleveland. His hobbies included hunting and fishing. He was an avid University of Oklahoma Sooner fan and also enjoyed watching Dallas Cowboy football.

Jay passed away on Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at the Oklahoma Veterans Center in Claremore, Oklahoma a the age of eighty-one. He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Dorthea Schultz. Jay is survived by his wife of sixty-one years, Mary of the home; two sons, Robert Jay of Cleveland and Richard L. and his wife, Carri Hill of Douglassville, Pennsylvania; three grandchildren, Angela Dawn Stach of Cleveland, Oklahoma, Ryan Lucas Hill and Rebecca L. Hill, both of Douglassville, Pennsylvania; and a sister, Almeda Molleur of Los Alamos, New Mexico.

A memorial service will be held at 10:00 am, Monday, July 14, 2008 at the First Christian Church with David Logsdon and Emile Bayouth officiating. Following cremation, Mr. Hill will be interred in Woodland Cemetery in Cleveland, Oklahoma under the direction of Chapman-Black Funeral Home.