Ralph Arnold Hill

Ralph Arnold Hill, 85, of La Grande died Aug. 7. Viewing will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home on 1508 Fourth St.,and from 10 to 10:45 a.m. Saturday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Gekeler Lane. The funeral will begin at 11 a.m.

Mr. Hill was born Aug. 6, 1920, to Joseph Orla and Marnie Woodruff Hill in Tremonton, Utah. He grew up on a farm near Bear River City, Utah, and graduated from Bear River High School in 1938. He attended Utah Agriculture College and worked in the shipyards in Portland during World War II. On June 22, 1945, he married Mariam Carter in Logan, Utah. They lived in Modesto, Calif., for a while before returning to the Grande Ronde Valley. He ran a service station and worked at Zimmerman's Furniture and Hardware, eventually buying the business and running it until he retired.

He brought 30 acres on Mill Creek in Cove, which became a favorite place for reunions and family gatherings, and the last few years spent winters in St. George, Utah.

He was a member of the LDS Church and enjoyed camping, hunting, fishing,woodworking, gardening and being with his family.

Survivors include his wife of La Grande; children and their spouses, Bill and Marcia Hill of Carson City, Nev., Frank and Linda Hill of Lake Forrest, Calif., Duane and Dawn of Boulder, Colo., JoAnn and John Huntsman of Athena, and Tamra and Craig Hooton of Hyrum, Utah; 25 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; four brothers, Clinton, Wendell, Burton and Kenneth Hill; and a sister, Dorothy Denton. An infant son, David, and a brother, Jim Hill, died earlier.