Mr. Charles Richard Hill, 91, of Park Lane, Niles, Mich., died following a brief illness at 9:15 a.m. Monday, May 26, 2003, in his home.
He was born on May 1, 1912, in Argos, Ind., to Hugh Donovan and Jessie Juanita (Schlosser) Hill. He came to Niles as a young child, was graduated from Niles High School in 1930, and attended the University of Notre Dame. He was employed for several years by Montgomery Ward & Company, serving as store manager in various Midwest locations. In 1945 he returned to Niles to take up dairy farming from which he retired in 1983.
As a dairyman, he was a member of the Southwestern Michigan Guernsey Breeders, the Berrien County Holstein Breeders, Michigan Animal Breeders Association, Michigan Milk Producers Association, Milk Marketing Inc., and the Michigan Farm Bureau. Paraphrasing his own words: "His pleasures were his work and his family."
Mr. Hill was also a member of First Presbyterian Church, Niles.
On Dec. 1, 1933, in Geneva, Ill., he was married to the former Mabel E. Hillis, who died on May 12, 1999. He was also preceded in death by a son, John Richard Hill, who died at 5; and by two sisters, Helen Louise Strong in 1973 and Jayne Blaske in 1984.
Surviving family includes their daughters, Barbara (Charles) Miltenberger of Niles, Nancy (James) King of Hudsonville, Mich., and Cynthia Jensen of Indianapolis, Ind.; six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services for C. Richard Hill will be at 11 a.m. Friday, May 30, in the First Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. Dr. Ronald H. Wakeman of the church officiating. Committal services will follow at Silverbrook Cemetery, Niles.
The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. today in the Halbritter Funeral Home, Niles.
Contributions in memory of Mr. Hill may be made to The Foundation of First Presbyterian Church or to the Berrien County Youth Fair.