Kermit Harley Hill

Winston-Salem - Kermit Harley "Sam" Hill, 78, passed away from an extended bout with cancer on January 27, 2011, at Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home in Winston-Salem, surrounded by his wife and family. He was born to Totsy Dunkley Hill and India Powell Hill on June 3, 1932, and was the eighth of eleven children.

Mr. Hill attended Mount Airy High School and went on to Lees-McRae Junior College in Banner Elk. After graduation in 1953, he joined the Naval Cadet Program and became a Naval aviator, serving on the U.S.S. Forrestal and U.S.S. Bennington, flying The FJ-3 Fury. He married Lorraine Davis in 1956, and they had four children. After completing his service in the Navy, he attended DePaul University and the University of Tennessee. He began his civilian pilot career with Delta Air Lines in 1958. He was a pilot for Delta Air Lines from 1958 until his retirement in 1992, flying a range of aircraft from the Douglas DC-3 to the Boeing B-747. He was the First Officer on the Worlds Inaugural Flight of the Douglas DC-9, flew throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. He retired as a Captain on the L-1011. His three sons also became pilots.

He is survived by his wife, Lori, whose loving care over the course of his illness enabled him to enjoy life and make many, happy memories; their four children, Don Mark Hill of Stephenville, TX, Scot Christopher Hill and his wife, Carol, of Winston-Salem, and Anne Christine Hill and her husband, Michael Grobleski, of Conover, and Ben Tracy Hill of Orlando, FL. "Poppy" Hill is survived by his two grandchildren, Ian Patrick Hill (age 18) and Melissa Grace Grobleski (age 9). He is also survived by his sisters, Evelyn Wall and her husband, Harvey, Mildred Marsh, Bertie Guynn and her husband, Theodore, and Nelda Fink and her husband, Jerry; and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, extended family, and special friends. In addition to his parents, Mr. Hill is preceded in death by his brothers, Herman Hill, Harry Hill, Jesse Warren Hill, and Wayne Hill; and his sisters, Essie Cox Badgett and Susie Gambill.

The family wants to express special appreciation to daughter-in-law, Carol Hill, RN, for her clinical expertise and devotion over the course of his illness and to Dr. Laurel Kilpatrick, Donna Smith, RN, nursing assistant Barbara and all the caregivers of hospice.

A visitation will be from 6:00 until 8:00 PM on Saturday, January 29, 2011, at Moody Funeral Home in Mount Airy. A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home, 101 Hospice Lane, Winston-Salem, NC 27103.