ORE CITY CEMETERY - UPSHUR COUNTY


Bertie Ellen Downing Hill, 89, went to be with her Heavenly Father on Monday June 22, 2015. Bertie was born to Joseph Riley Downing and Erma Lee Dillon Downing on August 26, 1925, in Olney, Texas, in Young County.

Funeral services will be held at Grubbs-Loyd Funeral Home in Gilmer, Texas, on Friday, June 26, 2015, at 10:00 A.M. Interment will follow at Ore City Cemetery in Ore City, Upshur County.Texas.

Visitation will be on Thursday June 25, 2015,from 6:00 – 8:00 P.M.at Gubbs-Loyd Funeral Home in Gilmer.

Mrs. Hill was preceded in death by her loving husband of 42 years, Gerald Norman Hill;son, Gary Gorman Hill; parents, Joseph and Erma Downing; brothers,Joseph Downing and Lealon Downing;sisters, Deneaca Downing, Gertha Wood, Willie Salinas, and Vernice Derbin.

Left to cherish her memories are her son, Jerry Don Hill and wife, Lisa, of Waxahachie, Texas, and daughter Sharon Hill Wager and husband, Kenny, of Diana, Texas; grandchildren, Cody Wager, Colton Wager, Lindsey Hill Baldwin and husband, Chris, Makenside Hill, Jonas Hill, Chaz Hill, Logan Hill, Luke Trotter; brother, L.C. Downing and wife, Dorothy; and sister, Imogene Turner; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Mrs. Hill grew up on the farm and moved away from home at the age of 17 during World War II to work in a canning factory in Pittsburg, Texas,to support the war effort. After the war she moved to Gilmer, Texas,and met the love of her life Gerald, a World War II veteran, while working at the White Swan Café located on the courthouse square in 1950. They were married in Baytown, Texas,on June 27, 1951.

Early in their marriage they lived in Gilmer, Texas. In 1954 they made their home in Ore City, Texas,where they raised their children Gary, Jerry and Sharon.

Mrs. Hill was a devoted wife, mother, and homemaker while her husband worked at Lone Star Steel Company.

In 1977 Mrs. Hill was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. She went to Baylor Hospital in Dallas, Texas,to receive treatment. She was a 38-year cancer survivor.

Mrs. Hill was fondly called Nina by her grandchildren. She loved going to their ballgames, school, and church activities. She was an avid Texas Rangers fan and all of her grandchildren played baseball or softball.

She will be missed by her family and all that knew her.