Celebration of Life-The Rev. Canon Jerry Hill
Saturday, February 05, 2022, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
The Rev. Canon Dr. Jerry Hill, who served Our Lord and this diocese with great vision and dedication, was born into eternal life on January 30, 2022. His life will be celebrated at 3 pm on Saturday, February 5 at St. Paul Episcopal Church, 624 Ovilla Road, Waxahachie.
Please pray for the repose of his soul, and for comfort for his wife, Gloria, and the family.
Any clergy friends and others who would like to participate in the service, are asked to contact Fr. Terry Reisner at 469-230-0755.
For those who would like to honor his memory, the family requests memorials be made as donations to the St. Paul Episcopal Church of Waxahachie endowment fund.
Obituary: The Reverend Canon Dr. Jerry Echols Hill (May 15, 1937- January 30, 2022)
After 50 years of ministry in the Episcopal Church, Fr. Hill recently retired from St. Paul Episcopal Church in Waxahachie where he served as Assisting Priest.
Fr. Hill graduated from the Seabury-Western theological seminary in Evanston, Illinois and began his street ministry for the homeless on the south side of Chicago. He returned to the Diocese of Dallas, settled in Duncanville and began street ministry in Dallas. He co-founded the “Stew Pot” for the homeless at the First Presbyterian church in downtown Dallas and founded the Austin Street Shelter in Downtown Dallas where he ministered and championed help for the mentally ill and homeless.
Fr. Hill is also remembered as an evangelist who planted and grew churches in the Diocese of Dallas. While directing Austin Street Shelter, Fr. Hill and his wife Gloria began a bible study in their home which ultimately became Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Cedar Hill. Later he was sent to St. Paul, where he shepherded the congregation to outgrow their chapel in downtown Waxahachie and replant to their current location. During his years of ministry he received numerous awards and accolades for his work with the homeless and mentally ill in the State of Texas. He was also the founding chair of the Rural Church Ministry Commission at the direction of The Rt. Reverend James Stanton. Most recently he was Canonized and installed into the Order of Garrett by The Rt. Rev. George Sumner, who noted that Canon Jerry was an “absolute failure” at closing churches. This was due to his brilliancy at growing lay ministry. Fr. Hill was known to his congregations as both friend and pastor, a man who resoundingly answered God's call and touched their lives in a way that drew them nearer to Christ.
Note: Surviving family includes two sons Max Hill and wife Cari; Marty Hill and wife Jennifer; four grandchildren, Payton Hill Cleveland and husband Chris, Carli Hill and fiance Brett Smiley, Zach Hill, and Alyssa Hill; three sisters Pat Hubbard and husband Bill, Judy Day and husband Pete, and Linda McCoy.