Vera Maud Hill

June 12, 1909, William T Hill married Vera M. Palmer, who was born August 22, 1886, daughter of Francis and Nettie Buckrell Palmer, in a log cabin in Montcalm county near Stanton, Michigan. She had a brother Glenn who died at twelve years of age. She was graduated from the eleventh grade in McBride and from the twelfth grade in Stanton; she then took training in the Grand Rapids Kindergarten School and was graduated and taught kindergarten in Stanton for two years.

After the death of her husband William Hill, she came to San Leandro, California in 1953, to live with her daughter, Olive Vera Johnson (Hill) and son-in-law, Clair B. Johnson, and four grandchildren (Dennis, Barbara, Linda and Nancy). Per Barbara, she was the most fantastic Grandmother you could ever have.

Barbara shares: Grandma Hill was the most loving, caring person you could have ever know. She lived downstair, in an apartment that my Dad made just for her. The San Leandro house was a two and 1/2 story house. The bottom story was split, so that one could open the windows and reach outside and pick flowers from the window. That is where Grandma's apartment was. We could go downstairs and visit and share with her everyday, and she would come upstair EVERY Sunday, to share Sunday dinner with us and Sunday evening fellowship. We would sing around the piano, play board games and just enjoy the time together.

Grandma loooooved her garden. She had an outdoor garden just steps from her doorway and she grew orchids inside. I used the "butterfly" orchids that she grew, in my first wedding bouquet. She also had canaries. Bright orange and brilliant yellow. They would sing for her all day. They were a delight for her.

She was somewhat confined to the house, as she had a horrible case of rheumatoid arthritis. Though her hands were deformed and her feet painful, she never let that get her down.

She was active in the Methodist Women's Fellowship group, in San Leandro. She made beautiful handmade quilts and donated them to the Fairmont Community Hospital, for their long term care patients.

She enjoyed oil painting. She did paint-by-number paintings, blending the edges and colors, so they almost looked like they were painted by hand. She shareed with me about Aunt Vena and the paintings Aunt Vena had done: Beautiful hand drawn and painted, oil and watercolor paintings.