This memorial website was created in memory of our loved one, Tommy Don Hill, 78, born in January 1943 and passed away in February 2021.
Mr. Hill, as the neighborhood and soccer kids called him, was an avid soccer fan and loved to coach kids in the sport. He was always up for a spur-of-the-moment game with the kids and parents alike. One of his favorite life moments was traveling with his son’s family to attend the Men’s and Women’s World Cup matches in the US together, and he loved it.
He was born in Wade, OK, and came with his family to Chatsworth, CA when he was about 6 years old. He was proud of his humble beginnings, picking cotton in the fields with his siblings and parents to working as a construction worker framing houses, and then becoming a highly successful and sought-after computer programmer and systems analyst.
Tom lived most of his life in Cupertino, CA, where he raised his family and worked as a Programming Consultant for Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and other Bay Area companies. One of his achievements was helping companies prepare for Y2K, as he was one of the few programmers left who still knew the old programming languages and could translate them into the new ones.
Besides soccer, Tom enjoyed playing guitar, making jelly, traveling and exploring little towns off the main highways, photography, scuba diving, skiing, golf, reading spy novels, bluegrass music - especially Doc Watson and Emmylou Harris, hiking, and the visual and performing arts.
Most of all, Tom loved his family. He is survived by his three children, Greg Hill, Sherri Goodman, and Cathie Baker and their spouses, plus grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, Robert Hill, and sisters Barbara Ramirez and Kimberly Craver plus many nieces, nephews, and cousins. His older brothers, Gene, Larry, and Richard predeceased him.
Tom Hill passed away peacefully with family by his side on February 25, 2021, in Milford, MI.
He was much loved and will be sorely missed, especially his quirky humor and snarky, funny phrases blurted out with great theatrical timing: “Oh Joy, Oh Rhapsody Divine!” or “Zounds!—Can it be?!?”
Go rest high on that mountain, Son your work on earth is done
–Vince Gill
