BETTY JEAN (HOPKINS) HILL

A Funeral Liturgy service will be held for Betty Jean Hill, 72, at 10:00 A.M. Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at the Saint James Catholic Church in Douglas, Wyoming with Father Lucas Kazimiro Simango as the Celebrant.  The Vigil for the Deceased will be held at 7:00 P.M. Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at the Gorman Funeral Homes – Converse Chapel.  Interment will be in the family plot at the Douglas Park Cemetery.

Betty Hill passed away Thursday, November 18, 2021 after a short illness from a very serious stroke at the Central Wyoming Hospice Home in Casper, Wyoming.

Betty was born Sunday, December 5, 1948 in Douglas, Wyoming the daughter of Edwin Jeptha and Betty Lou (Hall) Hopkins.

Betty attended schools in Douglas and that is where she met her future husband, Jim, in the 4th – 5th grades.   She married James Clyde Hill on September 19, 1970.

When Betty was a freshman in high school she started working in the hospital as a nurse’s aide and continued to work there all through high school.  Following graduation from high school she moved to Rapid City, South Dakota to attend nursing school to pursue a registered nursing degree.  She changed her studies to be a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) and graduated with a LPN license in January, 1971.

They moved to Chadron, Nebraska, where Jim attended a semester of college and she worked at a nursing home.  They returned to Wyoming in the spring of 1971 and settled in Lyman where Jim worked in the oilfield.  In the fall of 1971 they moved to Tekamah, Nebraska before moving to Scottsbluff, Nebraska in the fall of 1972.  In the fall of 1974 they moved to Casper, Wyoming and in the spring of 1975, they returned to Douglas where they have resided since.  Betty worked at the hospital and nursing home

In 1988, Betty was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor which caused various medical issues the rest of her life.  She took it all with a grain of salt and kept enjoying life, including her kids and grandkids, and especially her husband, Jim.

In September, 2021 she, Jim and grandson, Kenny took the 5th wheel camper on the trip of a lifetime.  They went to Las Vegas for a month, where they attended several shows, went to two rims of the Grand Canyon, to Death Valley, the Hoover Dam, and saw several sights in Las Vegas.  Betty enjoyed the slot machines.   

Betty is survived by her husband, Jim Hill, of Douglas; mother, Betty Hovda, of Douglas; children, Mike James (Raenae) Hill of Douglas, Brian Eugene (Amanda) Hill of Douglas, and Crystal Dawn (Mike) Decker of Rapid City, South Dakota; and grandchildren, Michaela Hill, Kenny Hill, Dominick Firnekas, and Katelyn Hill.

She was preceded in death by her father, Edwin, on March 8, 1975; step father, Charles V.O. “Chuck” Hovda, on April 10, 1995; and son, Justin Clyde Hill, on August 18, 2010.

Serving as pallbearers will be Dale Walker, Larry Wickersham, Bud Hill, Jess Hill, Tom Hill, and Dave Hill.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to National Brain Tumor Society, 55 Chapel Street, Suite 200, Newton, Massachusetts 02458 or a charity of the donor’s choice.    

The Gorman Funeral Homes – Converse Chapel of Douglas, Wyoming is in charge of the arrangements.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.gormanfh.com

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