Ronald "Ron" Guy Hill, Sr.

Ronald "Ron" Guy Hill, Sr. passed peacefully to Heaven on December 17, 2023. The world has lost an amazing friend, father, grandfather. Heaven has benefited by gaining a true gentleman! He is in the presence of the Lord and has been completely healed and restored. He was born Aug. 18, 1934 at Andrews, North Carolina. He was preceded in death by his beloved parents Hubert Guy Hill and Martha Floriede Henson; and sister Martha Jane Hill Garrison. He is remembered as a man of integrity, great generosity and humility. He was blessed with a rich life marked by service to his country, community and his fellow man, positively influencing many along the way; his impact will reverberate for a long time to come. He loved God and embodied the notion of "the humble servant", setting an example for those that spent any time around him. A proud descendant of longtime Western North Carolina families, he was a graduate of Murphy High School, and his formal education, University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Washington, DC. On Nov. 15, 1955 he married Shirley Hendrix of Canton, Georgia and during a marriage of 68 happy years, they raised three children. Ron and Shirley have traveled extensively to 53 countries and all 50 states. Ron proudly served in the United States Army during the Korean War, Vietnam War and was recalled from retired status for Desert Storm. His more than thirty military decorations include: Legion of Merit; Bronze Star Medal; Joint Service Commendation Medal; Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters; Army Achievement Medal; Good Conduct Medal with seven award clasps; National Defense Service Medal with two Bronze Stars; NCO Professional Development Medal; Army Service Ribbon Medal; Korean War Service Medal with two Bronze Stars; Korean Defense Service Medal; Vietnam Service Medal with four Bronze Stars; Southeast Asia Service Medal; Armed Forces Reserve Medal w/Ten Year Device; Overseas Service Ribbon with numeral three; United Nations service Medal; Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal First Class; Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal w/Device 60; Bravery Gold Medal of Greece; Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation; Meritorious Unit Citation; Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation w/palm; Korean Ambassador for Peace Medal and Proclamation. In 1965 he was promoted as the youngest Sergeant Major in the US Army and in 1967 he received a direct commission as an Officer in the US Army. He retired December 31, 1973 from the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations, Headquarters, Department of the United States Army, the Pentagon, Washington, DC. During his professional life, Ron held many positions. On Jan. 3, 1974 he was employed as Human Resources Director; Alston, Miller and Gaines, the oldest and most prestigious law firm in the southeast, in Atlanta. From November, 1974 to 1981, he was County Manager, Acting Health Director, Budget Officer, Emergency Management Director, concurrently for Cherokee County, North Carolina. During his tenure, Cherokee County received 12 National Awards for unique community development projects. Of more than 3,000 counties in the United States, Cherokee County was a leading rural county to receive an unprecedented number of state, federal and other funding grants, totaling more than thirty-eight million dollars for a multitude of projects. Of the many accomplishments, he was elated when on Dec. 6, 1976 the Cherokee County Commissioners approved his conception to establish the Cherokee County Museum in the old Library building owned by the town of Murphy, NC. Ron was recruited in 1981 and served until 1985 as CEO/Site Manager of a U.S. Corporation providing some 300 staff and faculty to the largest senior Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Military School, teaching English, advanced courses in electronics, computer science and military management at Taif, Saudi Arabia. In 1985, Ron became the first native born to become the CEO/Director of the John C. Campbell Folk School located in Cherokee County. He was given the awesome task to find a way to bring about the school's fiscal security for generations to come. By 1991 he had guided the evolution of the school into a national resource for traditional crafts, music, dance and folklore. His endeavors included a twenty year development plan to insure fiscal security, increased student enrollment from 600 to over 4,000, annual income from $300,000 to $1.4 million, established a Danish Folk School Exchange Program, a Mentor/ Apprentice Program, a highly sought-after Community/School Outreach Program, a folklore program, a perpetual external contributory support program, major campus improvements and expansion in student housing, studio upgrading, a new 9,000 square foot dining facility, and increased craft sales over 300%. Fiscal security was reached and to this day the school is continuing to flourish. In February 1991, by order of the Secretary of the United States Army, Ron was ordered to active military duty from retired status for service in operation Desert Storm until August 1991. In September 1991, he was recruited by officials of the State of Mississippi for a five year development contract. Ron was the CEO/ Founding Director of the Allison Wells School of Arts and developed a small business incubator center for artists. Concurrently, he served as project coordinator for the total restoration of many historical buildings on the square in downtown Canton, Mississippi. This unique economic development project served as a catalyst for Warner Brothers Pictures to produce a feature movie, "A Time to Kill", using all the historic facilities which resulted in a five million dollar stimulus for the City of Canton and the permanent establishment of additional facilities funded by the State of Mississippi for exclusive use by the movie industry. Following this project, the Nissan Motor Company located their truck assembly plant in Canton, Madison County, Mississippi, resulting in thousands of new jobs and millions of dollars to the local economy. Civic service was central for Ron. In 1996, after a remarkable career of 44 years of progressive military, local, regional, national and international executive management experience, he retired. They sold their 150 acre farm and home in Cherokee County and built their present home on their farm in Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia. Since 1995, he has devoted research work to his family genealogy and history. Ron's 28th Great Grandfather was William the Conqueror, King of England, and his ancestors were "First Georgians" living in Habersham County Georgia (now Choestoe Community, Union County, Georgia) when it was formed. Hear are the highlights of his many community contributions: Cofounder of Captain Hilliard A. Wilbanks Foundation; Founded the Private Rondall H. Glaze Foundation; Compiled and published the 530 page history of Chattahoochee United Methodist Church; served as Outreach Coordinator and Fundraiser to build a home for a Disabled Veteran which raised $191,000; researched 35 casualties of war and wrote vignettes for the White County War Casualty booklet; designed and commissioned a life-size bronze statue of White County Georgia's highest decorated soldier, Private Rondall H. Glaze; founded the Veterans Art Program for Northeast Georgia; designed and commissioned a life size Bronze kneeling Soldier Statue an ultimate memorial and tribute to the "Family of the Fallen", 35 White County citizens who were casualties of war. He was a member of Chattahoochee Christian Church and Bellview Christian Church; Life Member, Grand Lodge of Georgia, Dooly 367, Blairsville, Georgia; 32d Degree Scottish Rite of Free Masonry, Shriner, Oasis Temple, Charlotte, North Carolina; Northeast Georgia Veterans Society; Blue Ridge Mountains Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution; White County Rotary Club; The Military Order of the World Wars, Atlanta Chapter; Georgia Mountain Chapter, Military Officers Association of America; Life member of American Legion, Disabled Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Association of the United States Army, and The Gideon's International. Ron loved his family and friends, He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Shirley; daughter, Rebecca (Steve Zuercher); two sons, Ronald Guy, Jr. and William Felix (Kimberly); granddaughter, Sutton Hill Goldberg (Jackson Goldberg, MD); grandson Chandler Hill; two brothers, Hubert Mitchell "Mike" (Elizabeth) Hill, and Stephen "Steve" (Kathy) Hill; nephews, Johnathan "John" and Michael Hill; nieces, Sharon Garrison, Theresa Garrison Knowles, and Natica Garrison Elliott. Visitation for friends and the public will be held on Friday, December 22, 2023 from 5-7 PM at Barrett Funeral Home, 118 North Brook Street, Cleveland, GA. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 12 PM on Saturday, December 23, 2023 at Chattahoochee Christian Church, (former United Methodist) 8001 Alt 75 Hwy, Helen, Georgia, followed by a brief visitation, church services and internment at Bellview Church, 247 Moccasin Creek Road, Murphy, NC, beginning with visitation at 3:00 PM and services at 3:30 PM. Ron will be interred with full military honors. In lieu of flowers friends may wish to remember Ron with a donation to Northeast Georgia Veterans Society, PO Box 1631, Cleveland, GA 30528. Pastor Frank Zimmerman, Officiating, Susan Reisner, Soloist Arrangements have been entrusted to the the Barrett Funeral Home, 118 North Brook Street, Cleveland, GA 30528. 706-865-3101