Martha M. (Ruth) Hill

Martha’s graveside service will be 11 a.m., Wednesday, March 18th at the Newton Union Cemetery in Newton. Conducted by Rev. Don Freeman.

In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials to the United Presbyterian Church in Newton or to This Old Horse in Hastings, Minnesota; memorials may be left at the funeral home or at the church on the morning of the service. If you are mailing your memorial to the funeral home please add, Attn: Hill Family on the envelope.

Martha M. Ruth Hill, the daughter of Joseph and Ollie Mae Moreland Ruth was born on December 24, 1924 in Emden, Missouri. She was a graduate of Shelbyville High School in Shelbyville, Missouri. After her high school graduation Martha served her country in the U. S. Navy during WW II as an Aerographer Mate. When she returned home from the Navy Martha then graduated from Northeast Missouri State Teachers College in Kirksville, Missouri, now known as Truman State University.

After graduating from college she moved to Des Moines, Iowa where she met her future husband, Tom Hill and on June 11, 1950 they were married in Fort Dodge, Iowa. They were blessed with three children, Steve, Sue and Ellen. Martha worked in the Newton Community School District as a substitute teacher and adult education. She and her husband, Tom had the Hill Real Estate Company in Newton for many years.

Martha was an active member of the United Presbyterian Church, PEO, 20th Century Club and Town and Country Mother’s Club. She was an avid gardener and seamstress. Martha loved to bake and her pies were legendary. Martha had also enjoyed taking care of her two grandsons weekly as they were growing up.

Martha passed away on Friday, March 13, 2020, surrounded by the love of her family at MercyOne Newton Medical Center in Newton. She was 95. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Tom in 2005; two sisters, Hazel Jacobs and Eloise Shimkat; and two brothers, Robert and Richard Ruth.

Those left to cherish Martha’s memory are her children, Dr. Steve (Colette) Hill of Newton, Sue (Tom) Wolters of Newton and Ellen Hill of St. Paul, Minnesota; two grandsons, Nathaniel (Zuzana) Hill of Ann Arbor, Michigan and Jacob Hill of Grinnell; several nieces, nephews, and special friend, Chris Schmidt.

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