Douglas Arthur Hill

Doug Hill went to meet his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Tuesday December 10, 2024. Doug bravely battled an array of health issues in recent months and passed away surrounded by his loving family. 

A memorial service in honor of Doug’s life will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, December 16, 2024, at First Baptist Church of Waco, with Dr. Matt Snowden and Dr. George Mason officiating. There will be a reception with friends and family also at the church following the memorial service. 

Doug, son of Evelyn and Bill Hill, grew up in Chickasaw, Alabama with his little sister, Laraine. He graduated from UMS Military Prep School where he excelled at basketball and made lifelong friends. He grew up deeply involved in music and sports both at school and church. Those passions followed him throughout his life. Doug came to Baylor University in 1959 on a vocal performance scholarship. At Baylor, he was a member of Chamber of Commerce, participated in Student Government, sang in A Capella Choir, played intramural sports, and met his wife, Mary Ann Shotwell. He and Mary Ann married in January of 1962 while still students. Doug and Mary Ann have two daughters, Shari, married to Ronnie Vickery and Amy, married to Matt Chapman. They were also blessed with five precious grandchildren Matthew, Allison, and Jason Small; Brooke and Jake Chapman and Jake’s wife, Austin. 

After Baylor days, Doug served for five years in the Army National Guard Reserves. He started a career in the insurance business in San Antonio, but later he and Mary Ann moved to Dallas where they lived for 48 years. He enjoyed insurance sales, making the Million Dollar Roundtable multiple times and receiving the Man of the Year Award from Jefferson Pilot Insurance Company in 1970. He later held management positions with Jefferson Pilot as well as General American Insurance Company. 

After moving to Dallas, the Hills became members of Wilshire Baptist Church. Doug was deeply involved there and was ordained as a Deacon at age 30. He participated as a member of the choir, was a frequent cast member and soloist for musical drama presentations, was a department leader and teacher for youth and singles Sunday School and Co-Directed an Adult Sunday School Department. He traveled to Dominica to work in disaster relief and lead a mission trip to Russia shortly after the coup. Doug served on a variety of committees including Finance, Budget, and Stewardship. He annually planned and led men’s ski trips. Here, and at every turn of his life, he developed deep friendships, and precious, lifelong relationships were formed. 

In 1976, Doug left the insurance business and founded Mountain Haus Travel, a wholesale travel company which later became Sports Travel Inc. He had always felt called to do something in ministry, but the exact calling was unclear for many years. When the ski industry began to boom in the early 70’s, Doug was teaching youth Sunday School at Wilshire. He and Mary Ann were also serving as faculty members for Youth Weeks at Glorieta Baptist Conference Center each summer. Through that work, Doug met and became friends with many youth ministers. Through these friendships and experiences, he felt that God clearly lead him into his unique business. Churches became his focus. He was an entrepreneur in creating his business model which negotiated special volume-based rates with ski areas, lodging properties, rental shops, airlines, and bus companies. His mission was to provide churches with opportunities for well-priced quality travel and recreational ministry activities with personal, hands-on service. He had a great love for his clients as well as his vendors and considered them all wonderful friends. Sports Travel grew in scope through the years and ultimately arranged logistics for customized mission trips, choir trips, Scotland golf tours, summer camps as well as European ski and bike trips. Through it all, Doug became an excellent skier himself and enjoyed the sport until age 80. 

Without question, the greatest loves of Doug’s life were his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and his family. He was devoted to Mary Ann, Shari, and Amy always and later to Ronnie, Matt and his five grandchildren. From the time Matthew, Allison, Jason, Jake, and Brooke were little, he loved taking them places and spending special time with them. It wasn’t unusual to find him at the donut shop, on the ski slope or at the golf course by himself with 2-, 3-, 4- or 5-year-olds in tow. That became even more fun as they grew older and became more proficient at the various sports. He loved spending time with them at all ages and wanted to be a part of anything and everything that was important to them. He didn’t want to miss a thing! He was willing to drive for miles on any given day or fly home from Colorado in the middle of the night. He had lofty expectations for them and was a fierce Papa Bear if one of them needed to be defended. 

Doug and Mary Ann moved back to Waco in 2016. Doug found much delight in returning as he renewed old friendships, made many new ones, and was able to attend countless Baylor events. He rarely missed a Baylor football, men or women’s basketball, or baseball game! Doug enjoyed a great fellowship with the men in his Sunday School class at FBC Waco and appreciated the deep love and concern of this group. 

Doug’s strong faith, his immeasurable love for family and friends, his zest for life, his high energy, his fearless sense of adventure, his dedication to and passion for his business, his participation in activities such as skiing, golfing, cycling, and fishing, his appreciation for all kinds of music, and his love of Baylor University, all filled his life with joy. He was an optimistic fighter determined to make the best of every situation. He will be immensely missed by those who loved him. Heaven is, no doubt, a livelier, busier place now that he has arrived! 

Doug is survived by his wife of 63 years, Mary Ann; his daughters, Shari Vickery and husband, Ronnie, and Amy Chapman and husband Matt; grandchildren, Matthew Small, Allison Small, Jason Small, Jake Chapman and wife, Austin, and Brooke Chapman; sister, Laraine Yates, her children, Sandi Yates Moreau and Tim Yates; and other extended family. 

Doug was passionate in his support of the Louise Harrington Baylor School of Nursing and La Puerta-Waco. The family would appreciate your donations to these organizations or a ministry of your choice. 

We invite you to leave a message or memory of Doug in his “Memorial Guestbook” at www.WHBfamily.com.