Willard Clayton Hill, son of the late Anthony and Harriet (Dodson) Hill, was born April 8, 1933, in a little cabin North of Mountain Grove on property that now belongs to Simpson Strawberry Farm. Willard was the youngest of twelve brothers and sisters. He passed away September 10, 2024, at home surrounded by family as he wanted.
Willard lived most of his life in Mountain Grove except for time he spent in Germany while serving in the United States Army. After the Army, he worked at Sunflower Powder Company in Kansas, then at Gasperson Plumbing and Empire Propane Company in Mountain Grove, and then he worked and retired from Se-Ma-No Electric in Mansfield. He also helped in the flea market.
In 1966, Willard was united in marriage to Donna Smith. This union was blessed with two beautiful boys, Timothy and Tracy Hill.
Willard loved hunting and fishing with his boys or anyone else who would go. He loved chauffeuring his granddaughters around on the handlebars of his bike. When life gave him great-grandchildren he loved to make them paper airplanes. He also enjoyed metal detecting with friends and locating items for them.
Besides his parents, Willard was preceded in death by all his siblings and by one son, Timothy Hill.
He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Donna; one son, Tracy Hill and his wife, Traci; two granddaughters, Toschia Hill and Trestyn Mesimer and her husband, James; five great-grandchildren, Mavrick, Madyson, Mason, Maliegha, and Maddex Mesimer; many nieces, nephews, and friends who will miss him very much.
