Walter Howard Hill, Jr.

Walter Howard Hill, Jr., 96, passed away Monday, July 8, 2024, in Waco, Texas.

His funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Friday, July 12, 2024, at Crestview Church of Christ, in Waco, Texas, and a graveside service will follow in Hillsboro at Ridge Park Cemetery. The visitation will be from 6:00 p.m., until 8:00 p.m., Thursday, July 11, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home in Waco.

Walter was born August 26,1927, in Hamlin, Texas, he lived an interesting, successful life and provided an excellent role model for his 3 children, 2 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. Walter's early life during the Depression was very difficult, his father worked on the railroads and was seldom home. When Walter was 6, his mother died of cancer, and his three older siblings tried to keep the family going. However, shortly after his mother's death, his younger sister was tragically burned to death in an accident at home in the backyard. Walter and his brother Ben were sent to live with their grandparents in Hillsboro, and his 2 teenage sisters went to Dallas to work.

Walter began working at the age of 13, and he enlisted in the Navy in August of 1944, as soon as he turned 17 (his brother Ben had joined the Army in 1939, and served in WWII, Korea & Vietnam). Thankfully, Walter wasn't in combat because the war ended, but he was serving in the Pacific theater and lived through a typhoon when the fleet was gathering at Manilla to prepare for the final assault on Japan. Later, the ship captain asked all the crew what they planned to do after the war, and Walter said he would go to college. At the next port, he and two others were put ashore and told to wait for a ship to take them back to the states. Years later, he learned that the captain had discharged them because he felt they had a future. The ship Walter had been on was to be part of nuclear bomb testing, and the sailors were being used as test subjects for radiation effects.

After the war, Walter returned home and attended the University of Texas in Austin, benefiting from the newly created G.I. bill. While there, he ran into Anne Stiff, who he had known before enlisting, but not dated, in high school she was in the band, and he had played football. They were married in January 1947 and were together for 60 years until her death. Walter graduated from UT in 1949, with a degree in business and his first job was with the Texas Railroad Commission, auditing oil wells in far west Texas. He and Anne bought a small house in Austin and had their first child. While expecting their second, their first child contracted polio, and this caused Anne to return to Hillsboro for help from her family. Shortly after this, they sold the Austin house and the family moved to Waco where Walter found a job with the I.R.S. He worked there for 17 years, becoming area director. Walter was frequently sent to Austin for training and the kids enjoyed staying at the old Terrace Hotel and swimming at Barton Springs. Later, he went into private accounting practice and became a partner at Pattillo, Brown & Hill. He continued to work until the age of 93, and only left because the firm was worried about covid risks. He was so well respected for his competence and honesty that he served for a time as the Treasurer of the Texas Society of C.P.A.s.

Though he was quiet, Walter enjoyed jokes and always seemed to have the best punch lines. He was extremely intelligent. While he may not have been demonstrative about his feelings, he always supported his children, even when they made bad choices. After they were adults, he explained that since he didn't grow up in a regular family situation, he may have made mistakes as a parent, he apologized for any shortcomings. This showed his true humility and love. Walter’s naval service had instilled a sense of adventure and a love of travel, so every year the family would load up the station wagon and go on road trips, visiting almost all the national parks, and going to Colorado nearly every summer, where they stayed at the same lodge for over 50 years. These vacations provided his children with many happy experiences and exposed them to a sense of adventure and the joy of traveling, which they have carried into their lives as adults. Later in his life, Walter also enjoyed traveling to Europe.

Walter was a true Christian who lived by the principles of treating others fairly, as you would wish to be treated. He and Anne, as well as several other couples founded the Crestview Church of Christ in the 1950s, and he served as a church elder. In the late 1960s he tried to integrate the church by bringing in young black children from east Waco for bible classes. He set a quiet example of how to live a life of service to others. He was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels for many years, even after he was elderly himself, and provided rides, free accounting services and other help to many people in need, never expecting recognition. Walter dedicated his life to serving the community of Waco in various ways, for instance, he helped develop little league fields, and he served on many boards and commissions (the local draft board during the Vietnam era!) He was always reliable and if he promised to do something, you could count on it being done. Walter did not have many hobbies, but he enjoyed reading on a wide range of subjects, golfing, and singing in church. He also enjoyed genealogy research, and became a pioneer of Hill County, since his family had lived there for over 100 years. He and Anne once traveled to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where they found graves of both of their ancestors in the same cemetery!

In 1980, Walter suffered a serious health crisis, but before he underwent surgery, he promised his children he would recover and live to see the new century, he even predicted he would make it to 100! He did make it to the 21st century and continued to live independently and drive until the age of 95. Walter made it very close to 100, keeping his promises, as always. Thanks dad, for providing for us in material and spiritual ways for all these years and showing us how to live a good life of service to others. We were blessed to have him in our lives for so long.

Walter is survived by his 3 children, Loran (Carol), Andria, and Rod; his, grandchildren, Robert (Michelle) and Nathaniel (Kadi); great-grandchildren, Hailey, Lauren, Anora, Lily, and Moses. He is also survived by his second wife, Wilma, and her family.

Many thanks to the kind caregivers at Stoney Brook assisted living, Providence Hospital, and St. Catherine's Hospice who provided for him in his last days. Donations may be made to Meals on Wheels or a charity of your choice. Best of all, quietly do a kind deed for others and remember him.

We invite you to leave a message or memory of Walter on his “Tribute Wall” at www.WHBfamily.com.