Following on the entry I made yesterday about the death of
Jessica Z. Torres, 34, of Port Orchard in a car accident Monday, I
find myself writing about another young woman, formerly of Port
Orchard, who is dead before her time.
Rose Marie Hill, who died of breast cancer Jan. 8, was not a
famous person, so her death does not merit a bona fide news
obituary. But Local News Editor David Nelson and I agreed that her
“zest” for life, despite her illness, deserves mention on the
blog.
Rose moved to Port Orchard at age 3 and attended South Kitsap
Schools, including South Kitsap High School, where she graduated in
1994.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 21 while a senior at
Wells College in Ithaca, N.Y. For the next 10 years she continued
to live a full life and then some. She not only completed her
undergraduate degree, she went on to get a master in fine arts in
performance, and she traveled the world sharing her talent for song
and dance. The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where
she received her degree, will award an annual Rose Hill Performance
Award in her honor. She recently completed a second master’s degree
in counseling, graduating with honors from the University of
California Santa Barbara in California .
Beyond that, Rose had experiences in her short life most of us
blessed with good health would be lucky to cram into longevity.
According to her obituary, she “worked on an Alaskan fishing boat,
participated in building homes for homeless in Texas, she was a
sky-diver, sea-plane pilot, bi-plane enthusiast, para-sailor,
motorcyclist, violinist, ballerina, banjo player, singer,
song-writer, author and other ventures too numerous to name here.
Rose used her vast experiences to touch other people’s lives for
the better.”
Our sympathies to the family. The complete obituary is below,
with information on the scholarship established in her name.
CTH
Rose Marie Hill
31 May 1976 ~ 8 January 2008
Rose Marie Hill, 31, passed away peacefully, at home, on January 8,
2008, in
Seattle WA. Rose was born in San Diego CA, and moved to Port
Orchard WA, in
1979, at the age of three. She attended schools at Bible Baptist
Church,
Cedar Heights JH, and Sedgwick JH and graduated from SK High in
1994, where
she was very active in student government, Acting Ensemble,
cheerleading and
the Head Start Program at Olympic College in Bremerton.
Rose was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997, at the age of 21,
while a
senior at Wells College in Ithaca NY. She completed her course of
studies
there all while undergoing treatment and earned her BA in the
spring of
1998. She went on to earn a Master in Fine Art (MFA) at the School
of the
Museum for Fine Arts (SMFA), Boston, MA in 2004.
After graduation, Rose traveled the world as a performance
artist in
2004-2006. She performed in United States, Canada, Chili, Ireland,
Poland,
and traveled to numerous other places; Italy, Germany, Morocco,
Tunis,
France, England, Spain, Portugal, New Zealand, Panama, it was her
goal to
visit every continent. The SMFA in Boston will award an annual Rose
Hill
Performance Award in honor of Rose’s contributions to performance
art.
Rose moved back to Seattle in 2004, and began a master’s program
at Gevirtz
Graduate School of Education, University of California Santa
Barbara, CA.
She earned a Master’s Degree in Counseling and Clinical Psychology
in May of
2008. She completed her studies with honors.
Rose loved people and she loved life. The aggressive cancer she
endured
never went into remission; however, she never let her illness or
treatment
stop her from accomplishing her goals in education and the
personal
experiences she longed for, and she had many; she fished for the
summer on
an Alaskan fishing boat, participated in building homes for
homeless in
Texas, she was a sky-diver, sea-plane pilot, bi-plane
enthusiast,
para-sailor, motorcyclist, violinist, ballerina, banjo player,
singer,
song-writer, author and other ventures too numerous to name here.
Rose used
her vast experiences to touch other people’s lives for the better.
Above
all Rose loved her family and her friends and we will miss her
infectious
zest for life; she truly lived the mantra “seize the day” or “carpe
diem.”
Rose’s favorite song, “It Is Well (with My Soul),” personifies that
Rose
lived well and she has gone to a better place where she is indeed
well in
every sense of the word, today and forever. We give you to His
heart.
Rose is survived by her parents, Ginger (Michael) Kulpit of
Poulsbo WA,
Chuck (Michele) Hill of Olympia, siblings; Chrystie Hill of
Seattle, Andrew
Hill of Spokane WA, Trudee Hill of Seattle, Tonya (David) De Loma
of Benton
City WA, Karen (Tom) of Olympia WA and her paternal grandmother
Ilene Lee
Hill Mays of El Cajon CA and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins,
nieces and
nephews.
Rose was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents, Russell
Richardson
in 2001, and Mildred Richardson in 2006, both of Edgewood NM. She
was also
preceded in death by her paternal grandfather Charles W. Hill of
Olympia WA
in 2003.
A celebration of Rose¹s life will be held in Seattle WA on March
29,
location will be published at a later date. Memorial donations may
be made
to the Rose M. Hill Memorial Fund to benefit the Rose Hill
Performance Award
at Navy Federal Credit Union, 2238 NW BUCKLIN HILL RD STE 100,
SILVERDALE WA 98383-8530.
