Evan HILL

HILL, Evan Evan Hill, of Woodcrest Village, New London, NH, formerly of Newport NH, and Storrs, CT, died April 10, 2010. He was 91 years old. He was born in Philadelphia, the son of Marie Schmeltz Hill and Louis Hill. He received his BA from Stanford University in 1948, and his MS from Boston University in 1950. He married Priscilla Fiske in 1946. She died in 2001. As a young man, he worked as a reporter and editor on newspapers in the state of Washington and in the Alaska territory before World War II. In September 1941, he went on active duty with the Alaska National Guard as a second lieutenant. He volunteered for combat and fought with the 79th Infantry Division in Belgium and France. He was severely wounded in northern France and hospitalized for nearly four years, during which time he began to write non-fiction magazine articles, and sold an article on wounded solders to this first national publication, Liberty. He was discharged from the Army at the rank of captain. He then served as editor of the Argus Champion, at that time a semi-weekly newspaper in Newport, NH. After receiving his master's at Boston University, he stayed on for seven years as a journalism professor. In 1956, he joined the journalism faculty at Ohio State University, before beginning a seven-year stint working out of his office on Main Street in Newport NH, as a fulltime freelance non-fiction magazine writer for the Saturday Evening Post, the Reader's Digest, Redbook, the New York Times Magazine, the Saturday Review, Yankee and others and reporting throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. His work has been translated into five languages. He also ghost-wrote books and magazines for U.S cabinet officers, federal court judges and clergymen. In 1965 he was appointed head of the journalism department at the University of Connecticut and served in that position until he retired in1984. He published approximately 160 magazine articles and eight non-fiction books (twice with co-authors), including a college journalism textbook. He was an occasional consultant to newspapers, among the Boston Globe and the Providence Journal. In 1950 he was the winner of the annual essay contest of the American Newspaper Publishers' Association, and Freedom Foundation award. He was a director of The Day Publishing Company of New London, CT and a trustee of the Bodenwein Foundation from 1978-1989, a trustee of the Richards Library in Newport NH, and a member of the Newport School Board, the Budget Advisory committee and was an early member of the Newport Planning Board. For several years after his retirement he taught after school writing courses to Newport students and to adults in after-hours classes. He compiled a Historical Chronology of the History of Newport, NH, designed to aid local historians, available on the web. He was especially proud of the success of his former students, some of whom have been reporters and editors at the Boston Globe, New York Times, Time Magazine, the Wall street Journal and other prominent publications. Many achieved executive positions in corporate public relations. Many of his students became his friends after their graduation and kept in touch with him until his death. He is survived by his daughter, Lucinda Hill Hogarty and her husband Thomas of Chester CT; his son, Peter and his wife Maryjane of Sunapee NH; his three granddaughters, Emily Rosenthal and her husband David of Cambridge MA, Hilary Gerson of West Hartford, CT and Hannah Hill of Sunapee, NH; and his great grandson, Caleb Rosenthal of Cambridge, MA. He will also be missed by many friends and loving and kind caregivers at Woodcrest Village in New London, NH. Evan's favorite charities included the Democratic Party, Newport Library Arts Center, Planned Parenthood, Smile Train, The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, and The Fells. Private burial services were held at the North Newport (N. H.) Cemetery, with a memorial service to be held on May 16, 2010 at 11 a.m. at the Newport (N.H.) Library Arts Center.