James Hill

James Riley Hill Jr., 88, life-long resident of Anderson County, Kansas, passed away on Saturday, February 26, 2011, at the Flint Hills Care Center, Emporia, after a long illness. Riley, as he was known to most people, was born on July 18, 1922, on the Hill farm located northwest of Colony to James R. and Adeline (Bonfils) Hill. He grew up on the farm, attended Cedar Creek and Welda schools. He later enlisted in the U.S. Army, fought in WWII, was wounded and returned home. He met and married Katherine Louise Hensley of Warrensburg, Missouri, on October 29, 1945, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They resided in Missouri until late 1947 when James Sr. died and Riley came back home to take over and run the farm. Besides a non-living son, Jody, born in Missouri in 1947, the family continued to grow over the next 20 years ending up with 2 girls and 6 boys. Janet (Jerry) Sexton of Gardner, KS, J.R. III (Rita) of Loudon, TN, Jerry (Janee) of Emporia, KS, Rick (Debbie) of Parker, CO, Randy (Glenda) of Humboldt, KS, Justin (Lisa) of Wichita, KS, Judi (David) Wolfe of Wichita, KS, and Jon (Jennifer) of Americus, KS. Besides running the farm, Riley also worked for several years as a carpenter on many projects in Kansas City and the surrounding areas until he retired. With most of the children grown and gone from home, he and Katherine moved to Colony in 1987. Over the next several years, they enjoyed travelling and visited almost every state until illness slowed them down. One of Riley's hobbies was rebuilding old farm tractors and he always had a few small farm animals around to look after. Over the past years he liked to keep in contact with old army buddies in his unit, but now, very few if any remain. He enjoyed geneology and while travelling visited long lost family members found during his research. He was preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Katherine (2009), son Jody (1947), daughter Judi (2002), along with a half-brother James Edwards and a half-sister Cecil (Hill) MacEachron. Along with the 7 surviving children, there are also 15 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren. FUNERAL SERVICE: 11:00 a.m., Thursday, March 3, 2011, at the Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Chapel in Iola. Rev. Mark McCoy will officiate. The family requests no flowers, but memorials may be sent to the Colony Christian Church. Online condolences for the family may be left on this website, www.iolafuneral.com .