New Orleans Times-Picayune, December 30, 1998
"She was a lifelong student,
and everything, everywhere was a classroom."--sculptor John T. Scott
New Orleans Times-Picayune, December 30, 1998
Beatrice Marjorie Albertine Hill, a sculptor, died Sunday of pneumonia
at Tulane University Medical Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was
75.
Mrs. Hill's love of art and music inspired her to take up sculpting in her 60s. She studied at Xavier University with renowned sculptor John T. Scott and practiced her craft in her backyard Metairie studio up to the time of her death.
She expressed her feelings about nature, people, literature, philosophy, music and the world through stone. "I think I was born a stone carver but didn't realize it till I reached my 60s," she once said. "She worked like a Zen poet -- meditative and quiet," Scott said of Mrs. Hill's passion for her art. "She pursued her ideas for herself, and in the end gave others great pleasure. She was a lifelong student, and everything, everywhere was a classroom."
Her works were regularly displayed at the Carol Robinson Gallery. She was one of the gallery’s major artists and its only marble sculptor.
Mrs. Hill was born in Passaic, N.J., grew up in Rutherford, N.J., lived in Metairie [Louisiana] for the past 42 years. She attended the Fashion Institute of New York.
An inveterate and enthusiastic traveler, she often played host to foreign guests in her home through several exchange programs, including the Council for International Visitors.
She was on the board of the Japan Society of New Orleans--and taught Sunday school at Munholland United Methodist Church. She was a former assistant director of the Metropolitan Ministries, a nondenominational organization that provided tutoring programs for public school students.
Survivors include her husband, Woodrow P. Hill; three sons, the Rev. Gary Dixon Hill of Nacogdoches, Texas; Carter Scott Hill of Ridgeland, Miss.; and Kevin Bruce Hill of Shreveport; a brother, Herman Albertine of Fernandina Beach, Fla.; five grandchildren; and a great-grandchild. A memorial service was held Thursday at 11 a.m., December 31, 1998, at Leitz-Eagan Funeral Home, 4747 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie. Visitation will begin Thursday at 10 a.m.
Memorials to:
Bea Hill Memorial
Heifer Project International
P.O. Box 808
Little Rock, AR/USA 72203
Tel.: 501-376-6836, (800) 422-0474
E-mail: donorservices@heifer.org
Web: www.heifer.org
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