Eugene Francis Hill

Eugene (Gene) Francis Hill walked on with his Lord in Heaven on July 12th, 2024, at the age of 69. Gene is survived by Sheena, his devoted wife of 39 years, his four sons, Dustin, Sean, Alex, and Jason, and his grandson, Gerard. He is also survived by his sister Wendie Hallowell of Ft. Worth, TX, and John Thomas Hill of Arlington, TX.

Gene was born on January 23rd, 1955, in Fort Worth, Texas, as the youngest of three children to Francis and Bette Marie Hill. At the age of 19, he got into a life-altering accident involving a descending elevator, which caused irreversible damage to his larynx. While in the ER, he told his father he loved him, and that was the last time he spoke with his original voice. The doctors successfully performed life-saving surgery on him but couldn't preserve his ability to speak. Over the next 2 years, he taught himself how to speak using false vocal cords.

After his accident, he bought a guitar and learned to play. His passion for music came in no small part from his parents, who fell in love through music on a medical ship returning to the United States from Europe at the height of World War II. Bette Marie Paxton played the piano while Francis Hill sang along. Gene revered his father's singing voice, as he often reminisced on how he led hymns for their local church, but without a singing voice of his own, he needed to choose his own part to play. Two years after his accident, he lost his father due to a massive heart attack. A jogger found Francis resting peacefully at the base of a tree.

Gene went on to enroll at the University of Texas in Arlington and achieved a Bachelor of Science. During his medical training, he got to work in the laboratory at Saint Joseph Hospital in Fort Worth, TX, where he met his then-future wife, Sheena Lee. At the time, Sheena referred to Gene as "the guy with the funny voice," but that "funny voice," which sounded like a Donald Duck and Wolfman crossover, grew on her every day until they both said "I do" on January 23rd, 1985.

They lived in Arlington, TX for a few years, where their first child, Dustin Samuel Hill, and second child, Sean Eugene Hill, were born. With families in both Dallas/ Fort Worth, TX, and Memphis, TN, they decided to move to Dumas, AR, which sat between the two points. There, their third child, Alex Christian Hill, and fourth child, Jason Lee Hill were both born, and all four children grew up oblivious to their father's unique vocals. They visited both sides of the family often to ensure their children knew them well.

Eventually, Gene and Sheena sought new work opportunities and a new place to raise their family. That search led Gene to Omak, WA, where a position for a laboratory manager became available at the Omak Clinic, which left him torn over whether to leave or stay. He cared so much for his sons' happiness that he left the choice to them. Each son enthusiastically decided to move to Washington state, so in the summer of 1998, they packed everything and left Dumas to relocate to Omak. Though the distance between their families grew, they still flew down every couple of years to reunite with them and keep the whole family close. His mother even relocated to Utah to help close the gap, but a few years later, she passed away from emphysema while his sons were still young.

Shortly after moving to Omak, Gene and Sheena engaged with the local Christian congregations. His love of music and ability to play the bass guitar led him to play in a local Christian rock band called "Stumpy Joe," who toured across Washington to play at several venues, spreading the gospel of Christ. It was not uncommon for him to turn on the music and really crank it! He loved progressive rock, especially the bands "Jethro Tull", "King Crimson", "Rush", "Emerson, Lake and Palmer", and his favorite, "Yes". These bands' songs became a consistent backdrop for all their long family road trips exploring the United States.

Within the last year, Gene joined a band called "Koala-Fried Carnival" with some other local musicians, and together they performed gigs in Okanogan County, WA. It made him so happy to spend his time in retirement jamming out with them on his bass. With his collection of guitars and new bandmates, he continued his love of music through their performances.

Though Gene and Sheena worked full-time, they cooked meals almost every evening, with "Fend-for-yourself-Friday" being the one exception. Gene's cooking was downright delicious, and he always made enough for leftovers, a feat in and of itself considering his sons' voracious appetites. He created his own recipes and taught his sons how to cook. His most famous recipe was the Hill family salsa, which all his sons recreated with their own individualized styles. He sold pints of his personal salsa recipe at the local farmer's market, spreading the joy of Texas style salsa with the towns of Omak and Okanogan.

Gene pursued many different interests and hobbies throughout his life and inspired his own children to do the same. He loved to hike and traversed many trails throughout the states with his family behind him, in front of him, or riding in a pack on his back. He also loved to bike and dedicated at least one full day of a big family road trip to biking, whether it was on one of the San Juan islands or in British Columbia. Long after his retirement at the Omak Clinic, he still rode his bike around town.

Even with an injury to his larynx that limited his breath capacity, Gene pursued an active lifestyle, and loved to share that lifestyle with his family. He kept a poster of Arnold Schwarzeneggar in the room he pumped iron every day of the week after work. This routine went on for many years, and that poster of Arnie stood the test of time.

Every summer, Gene took his family out to local lakes to make memories of water skiing, knee boarding, and often rowdy family picnics. Gene always wore sunglasses while water skiing, and when he inevitably wiped out, he lost that pair to the lake's murky depths, only to return next time with a fresh pair. To this day, no one knows the exact number of lost sunglasses now resting at the bottom of those lakes. During the winter months, they made frequent excursions to the (semi) local ski hill, the Loup Loup Ski Bowl and shredded tons of powder. Unlike their outings to the lake, the mountain did not end up littered in lost sunglasses.

Of all his passions, Gene was proudest of his family. He took care to share nuggets of wisdom with his sons as they needed it. His voice carried a message of peace, love, and understanding to each of them throughout their lives. He shouted his support from the sidelines during sporting events, whistled and cheered during their performances, even if it hurt on account of the injury. One by one, they would make their own ways in life, carried through their own journeys and adventures by his love and wisdom.

Gene was an outstanding father, husband, and human being. Everyone who remembers him fondly will recall his unique voice, and those closest to him will always miss his words of inspiration.

Only two months before he passed, he left home on one last trip to see his brother John and his sister Wendie, as well as meet his first grandchild: Gerard Lee Hill. His entire family came together during that trip. Immediately after he returned to Omak, the sickness set in, and a month later he passed away after a sudden discovery of advanced pancreatic cancer. In his final days, his loving family stayed by his side.

His service will be held in Arlington, Texas on July 27th, 2024, at Moore Memorial Gardens at 2 PM, where he will be buried alongside his parents.

Proverbs 12:28 KJV: "In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death."