Betty H. Hill

Betty Jean Herbert Hill

May 18, 1933 - November 23, 2023

Betty Jean Herbert Hill

Betty was born May 18, 1933, to Cornelia Tignor Herbert and Daniel Herbert in Washington, D.C. She was the youngest of two children and was a product of Dunbar High School. Betty went to Howard University as an undergraduate, where she met and married her husband, Dr. William Emerson Hill. She then graduated from Howard with an undergraduate (1955) and graduate (1957) degree in psychology. Betty and Emerson moved to Pontiac, MI, in 1965, where they began to set their Michigan roots and had the beginnings of a long and wonderful life. From their beginning, She and Emerson were inseparable, enjoyed a love for travel, and dragged their children (Bill, Renee, and Jennifer) with them when they could. In their travels, they visited every continent except Australia, making friends along the way. Betty enjoyed spending time with their friends and hosting her Sister City families and the students and residents from North Oakland Medical Center/ Pontiac General Hospital and St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, as well as the Horizon Upward Bound students during the summer program at Cranbrook School.  Betty worked in the labs of the NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health), was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, Urban League, NAACP, and the National Psychology Honor Society (Psi Chi) and a member of The Greater Pontiac Sister City Club. In addition, she served as Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Pontiac YWCA and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Pontiac Creative Art Center. Betty also had a love for good food, science fiction, and horror movies, and her three children and four grandchildren.

She is survived by her three children, William (Ann), Renee (Mary Foulke) Hill, and Jennifer Hill; four grandchildren, Andrew Hill, Lauren Hill, Sean Foulke-Hill and Matthias William Foulke-Hill; nephew and nieces: Richard (Barbara) Packard, Kim Sullivan, Jeryl Irvine and Henry Hill Jr., Tracey Simmons Fisher (Terence), Stephen Simmons (Natalie), and Scott Simmons.

Betty is preceded in death by her husband, William E. (Bill), and her parents, Cornelia and Daniel Herbert.  Her sister Shirley Simmons, brother-in-law Halevy Hercules Simmons, and in-laws Henry Hill, Helen (John) Packard, Evelyn Sullivan, Margaret (Joseph) Irvine, and Mildred Hill.

A memorial service will be held at All Saints Episcopal Church,171 W Pike Street, Pontiac, MI 48341m, on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, at 11:00 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a donation be given to Cranbrook’s Horizon Upward Bound or Howard University.