Today would have been Mom's 88th birthday

It's hard to believe that Mom has been gone for almost three years. So much has happened in that time that I wish she could have been here for. New great grandkids, Lori and Keir finding a house out here... The picture is the one we had on the altar at her memorial service. Her favorite color was red.

We sure do miss her.  This is the piece we had in the church bulletin when she passed away (written by my daughter Amy).

Nadine was born in Miller, Missouri as a twin. Her twin died before her second birthday as did an older sister; thus Nadine ended up as the second oldest in a family that included 2 brothers and 4 sisters. They all attended a one room school house, and Nadine would eagerly study by the light of a kerosene lamp. She loved school and loved learning. By 6^th grade she knew she wanted to become a teacher and was determined to get the education that would allow her to pursue her dream.  She was the only member of her family to attend college, and graduated from Southwest Missouri State Teachers College. Deciding to go even further, to get a Master’s Degree, she left small town life and courageously boarded a bus for Chicago, where she enrolled at Northwestern University in Evanston. To put herself through school, she got a job waitressing at Hill’s Tea Room. It was here that she met her soul mate, Arthur Hill, the man she would be married to for next 42 years. They were married on Valentine’s Day in 1942, and a few months later he was sent overseas to serve in World War II, where he remained for the next three years. She wrote to him every day and got jobs teaching in Kentucky, Oklahoma, and then back to Chicago. After the war, they were finally able to start their family and had three sons, Art Jr., Ron and Rich. They bought their first house in Fernwood, and then a second in Morgan Park where they lived for 14 years. Nadine started teaching again once her three boys started school and taught at Thornton Community College for 17 years before she and Art moved to beautiful Encinitas California in 1974. Still, she continued to teach, even taking computer classes so she could teach others how to use them. Her sons and their families loved to come visit “Grandma and Grandpa” every year. Her beloved Art passed away in 1984 and Nadine moved back to Chicago in 1990 where she would spend the next 14 years as an integral part of the lives of her three sons, daughters-in-law, Jill, Carol and Debbie, 10 grandchildren, Amy, Lori, Julie, Heidi, Kelly, Abby, Daniel, Deanna, Christy, Marissa, and her 5 great-grandchildren, Olivia, Mary, Patrick, Kyle and Lindsey.

And here is the link to the memorial pages we put up Tribute to Nadine Hill Happy Birthday Mom!