J.T. Hill

McCLURE, Ill. -- Jesse Thomas "J.T." Hill, 64, of McClure died Saturday, Feb. 9, 2002, at his home.

He was born in Cape Girardeau Jan. 21, 1938, at Southeast Missouri Hospital, to Thomas and Gladys Burris Hill. He graduated from Shawnee High School in 1956 before attending Southeast Missouri State University.

He married Ella Eugenia "Jeanne" Jameson June 20, 1964, in Springfield, Mo. After serving in the U.S. Navy in Great Lakes, Ill., they moved to Cape Girardeau, where J.T. returned to SEMO to earn a bachelor's degree in agriculture management in 1968. After working for Farm Bureau Insurance he became an independent insurance agent in 1976 with co-agent Joy Englehart and served the Cape Girardeau Community until his retirement in June 2001.

J.T. was a member of the West Side Church of God since 1967. He was an active 4-H leader in McClure for over 20 years and served on the East Cape Girardeau Water Board. He also was in the Cape Girardeau Executive Club.

He is survived by his wife Jeanne; daughter Kelly and husband Chris Jenkins of Oxford, Miss.; three sons, Kerry Hill and wife Penny of McClure, Keith Hill and wife Christy of San Antonio, Texas, and Kevin Hill of McClure. Mr. Hill had seven grandchildren, Julie and Kacie Hill, Collin Welker, Michael Markhart, Chayce Hill, Ethan Hill and Jameson Jenkins. His brothers, Bill LaBruyere of Jackson and Ed Hill of McClure, and his sister Vivian Maassen of Wisconsin also survive him, as well as his mother-in-law, Beulah Jameson, and numerous in-laws, nieces and nephews. Only his parents and father-in-law, Lowell Eugene Jameson, preceded him in death.

He was a loving and devoted father and grandfather and he will be greatly missed. He was a good Christian man who touched many lives. He always had a smile and a joke for any occasion.

Visitation will be at Ford and Sons Funeral Home on Sprigg Street in Cape Girardeau on Monday, Feb. 11, from 3 to 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held at Ford and Sons Sprigg Street Chapel at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12. The Rev. Jon Rehbein will officiate. Following the service, the burial will be at the Hill Family Cemetery in McClure. Memorials can be made to the West Side Church of God youth program, the Shawnee District 84 Hill Scholarship Fund or the American Cancer Society.