Doris Anna Hill

BERLIN—Doris Anna Hill, 102, died May 18, 2008 at the Woodridge Nursing Home in Berlin.

She was born in East Brookfield, June 19, 1905 to George K. and Julia Winnifred (Parmenter) Sprague, Sr. She spent her childhood on the family farm in East Brookfield, where as soon as the "women’s work" was done, she’d join her father in the barn or fields, her favorite thing to do. She attended the one-room school next to the farm, and Spaulding High School in Barre. She and her three brothers left East Brookfield for Barre on Sunday afternoons in a horse and buggy or sleigh, and returned Friday evenings. They stayed at a boarding house, and a doctor used their horse for house calls during the week.

She graduated from Spaulding in 1923 and went on to the University of Vermont to major in home economics. Her father chose this major for her because he felt she had spent too much time outdoors neglecting to learn all the important domestic skills. (She often said she wished she had been able to major in physical education or nursing.) She played varsity soccer, hockey and baseball.

She met her future husband, Arthur Hill, at UVM. They were married August 21, 1927 and lived for a short while in Lyndonville, then Hardwick. She taught home economics and biology at Craftsbury Academy in Craftsbury Common.

She and her husband moved to East Brookfield in 1936, where for over 50 years, their lives revolved around neighbors, family and community. She was a 4-H leader and a member of the Crescent and Beulah Chapters of the Eastern Star. In addition to serving as choir director and organist for the East Brookfield Congregational Church, she arranged flowers and organized, spring cleaning bees and chicken pie suppers.

When her husband retired, they moved to Williston Woods, where she made many new friends. Her last 10 years were eased by the caregivers at Pillsbury Manor and Woodridge Nursing Home.

She was predeceased by her husband who died in 1992, and an infant son, Gordon, who died shortly after birth.

Survivors include her children: Art Hill Jr. and his wife, Christine, of Barre; Winnifred Manning of Amherst, Mass.; and Jan Lawson of Shelburne; 12 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.

There will be a memorial service Saturday, June 14 at 12:30 p.m. at the East Brookfield Congregational Church on Route 14. A light lunch will follow the service. Gifts in her memory may be made to the East Brookfield Congregational Church Memorial Fund, PO Box 425, Brookfield, Vt. 05036. Her family is in charge of the arrangements.

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