Elwyn Gene Hill

On April 1, 2020, our Mom Roberta Hill passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by her family. Due to COVID restraints we like so many were unable to celebrate her life as we would have liked. On September 16, 2025, our Dad “Gene” Hill passed away in like fashion, at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City. We feel that now is the time to honor them both, jointly as they “did” life.“Old timers” are often forgotten, but these two will be remembered for generations to come… Gene and Roberta Hill. The following was written by Roberta Hill as an “assignment’ from their church, the First United Methodist Church of Kingfisher. We thought it best to just let her tell their story:Elwyn (not Elvis - he came later) Gene Hill, son of Wilbert and Ollie Morrison Hill was born west of Loyal on November 25, 1930. On occasion, his birthday falls on Thanksgiving Day and we really give thanks! He has one brother, Harold who lives in Houston with his wife Beverly and their family. Having been born at the beginning of The Great Depression, he definitely knows about making do with what you have and how to work.

By the age of ten he was doing a man’s work, field work (with no shirt or cool cabs), and daily chores. He was raised in the Baptist Church and Sunday was the only day he did not work. He spent two years in Loyal school and five years in the one-room school at Cedar Valley. Then they moved west of Omega and Gene spent the last five years at Omega School. He participated in 4H, showing Hampshire hogs and later Angus calves. He enjoyed singing, playing baseball, and was a good student. Following graduation, he attended college at Oklahoma A&M, known now as Oklahoma State University, for two years. Gene studied building construction which he later used for a period of 20 years. While in college, he also enjoyed being a member of The College Men's Choral Group.I, Roberta Ann Murray, daughter of Robert Arthur Murray and Pearl Jared Murray, was born in Kingfisher, on April 27th, 1932. I got to carry my dad's initials and was born just 20 months after my brother, Charles Alfred.Some of the things that were typical of those times were having no electricity, no indoor plumbing, ice delivered by the chunk to your door, homemade ice cream in the summer, snow cream in the winter, wild greens in the spring, home canned food in the cellar, homemade dresses, and hand pumped water. Don't forget about the mattresses being carried to the yard for summer sleeping, lying in the grass and watching the clouds change, creek fishing, playing in the barn, swimming in the stock tank, and bringing in the cows for milking. I also had music by singing around the piano with daddy playing the violin, (that his WWI buddies bought for him in Lyon, France). I became a member of this congregation at the age of nine.My family and I went through World War II together. This meant we and the rest of America made do by patching, repairing, rationing, doing without and wearing things out. My daddy, Robert, sold war bonds and raised money for the Red Cross. My family were farmers without using bug spray and fertilizer. My daddy was a full time carpenter. He was up at 5 and on the job at 8. I heard a man tell daddy one day, “You do the same honorable work as the greatest man that ever lived, our Lord!” I love those carpenters. They put things together. To this day, the one fragrance that I emotionally love is the smell of freshly sawn wood.I dearly loved school and learning, basketball and softball, and my teachers. Gene sang and I became the accompanist for the Fine Arts and school events. Do you suppose that sometimes we get “set up” by God?Then Korea happened and after dating for nearly four years, Gene and I were married April 8th, 1951. In 1953, on his birthday, Gene received a “letter of invitation” from Uncle Sam. He went through basic training at Fort Smith, Arkansas. After basic training he was sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for artillery, where he was intensively trained to be the chief surveyor of “The Atomic Cannon”. It is on display there to this day, never used. He was sent to Korea in the infantry (no training in that area) as a point man in the 23rd Division. Fortunately, the war ceased just days before his arrival. The rest of his service was in Hawaii.We have three children. Lani (a Hawaiian name that means Heaven) teaches high school art at Catoosa; Valerie Bregenzer of Hennessey, a homemaker and mother of three of our granddaughters; and Brian, who has his own business and five children (three sons and two daughters and they are in Edmond.Gene joined the First Methodist Church in Kingfisher shortly after we married. I loved teaching 1st through 6th grade Sunday school for 18 years. Gene and I were youth sponsors for 12 years. We loved every minute of it!We are now past playing much, but we have traveled a good bit. Having been put here in the heart of the heartland enabled us to run in all directions. We're still farmers at heart. Love our community, love our neighbors, love our hometown, love this corner that houses our branch of the “Body of Christ.” I guess that what we are involved with here is and has been “A Love Affair”- “God Reigns”!!

~Written by RobertaWe would like to express a heartfelt “thank you” to the community who shared “life” with them through the years. Our prayer is that they will be remembered well. A public viewing of “Gene” Hill will be held on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, from 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM at Sanders Funeral Service. The family will be hosting a private funeral service.