Beth Hill

Beth (Eaton) Hill, 93, of Concord, MA died March 1, 2013 in Concord. Born in 1920 in Niskayuna, New York she was the daughter of John D. and Isabella (Duncan) Eaton. Her father, not a believer in higher education for women, offered her a chance to travel around the world rather than go to college. Beth chose, instead, to attend Stoneleigh Junior College. From there she went to Beaver College (now Arcadia University) and then to Simmons School of Social Work. She worked for a number of years as a social worker at the Boston Eye and Ear Infirmary. At the wedding of James and Trynie Hawks (also of Concord), she met her future husband, George A. Hill, Jr. They married in 1950 and settled in Harvard, MA where they raised their two daughters, Nancy and Betsy. Soon after the death of her husband in 1984, Beth moved from Chatham to Concord and continued to divide her time between Massachusetts and her summer residence on Bailey Island in Maine. The island was her true home and she devoted many years to writing a history of it. Her book, The Evolution of Baileys Island, was published in 1992. An accomplished watercolorist, she also wrote and illustrated many wonderful childrens books which, while unpublished, were enjoyed by her grandchildren. Later in life she took her fathers advice and traveled the world||visiting many islands in the Caribbean, Egypt, Italy, Portugal, England, Scandinavia, China and Mexico. Beths life touched many people and she will be missed. She is survived by her family: her daughter, Nancy Hill Butman, and her husband, John; her daughter Betsy Hill Williams, and her husband, Glenn; and her four grandchildren: Jeremy and Henry Butman and Dan and Emily Williams. A memorial service will be held on March 23rd at 11AM at the Duval Chapel of the New England Deaconess Association, 80 Deaconess Road, Concord. A summer memorial on Bailey Island is also being planned. Contributions in her memory may be made to the Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, PO Box 359, Harpswell, ME 04079. Arrangements are under the care of Charles W. Dee and Susan M. Dee, Dee Funeral Home of Concord. To share a remembrance in her guest book or to request details of the summer memorial service please visit www.deefuneralhome.com.