Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Paton Hill peacefully entered into eternal rest April 15, 2020 at the age of 81 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Having just gone through the Great Depression and being part of the Dust Bowl, Jerry’s parents packed up and fled to California. They returned back as soon as the black clouds left the Oklahoma skies. The son of Frankie Phillips Hill and Homer Hill, Jerry was born July 9, 1938 in Alta Loma, CA and was the youngest of three children. He received the nickname “Jiggs” at the tender age of two because his hair always stood straight up like the boy in the comic strip Jiggs and Maggie. The name stuck and most folks from that area only knew him as “Jiggs.”
Jerry kept busy growing up. He drummed for the Arapaho High School Marching Band, and played on the school’s baseball and basketball team for his school. And he also began a lifelong passion for hunting birds, squirrel, deer, antelope and elk.
After graduating in 1956, Jerry’s entire high school basketball team attended Southwestern College and they became known collectively as the “Guys from Arapaho” Intramural team (and were apparently very good!). Later, Jerry transferred to Oklahoma State University in Stillwater to complete his education, earning a degree in Sociology in 1962. “Jiggs” married his high school sweetheart Carolyn Janice Koch in 1959, and they enjoyed 35 years of marriage until Janice’s death in 1994.
Following his graduation from OSU, Jerry joined the United States Air Force, and admirably served his country in a military career that spanned 27 years and took him all around the globe to Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, Iceland, Germany and Saudi Arabia. His career began at Officer Training School at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX, where he achieved the rank of 2nd Lieutenant and trained to become a Navigator. While stationed there, Jerry and Jan welcomed to their home their son Mark Paton in 1965 and daughter Jana Lynn in 1966.
During Jerry’s accomplished and decorated military career, he was stationed across the country, including stops at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX; Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, SD; Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, AL; McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, KS; and Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City. In 1971, Jerry deployed to Vietnam earning the Gallantry Cross with Palm Leaf. Superiors regularly praised him as “excellent” and “outstanding” – one noted he “should be promoted well ahead of his contemporaries” - and he rose in the ranks; 2nd Lieutenant, 1st Lieutenant, Captain, Major and Lieutenant Colonel. Of Jerry’s numerous assignments, he most enjoyed his role as Navigator on a KC-135, which functions as a flying gas station as part of the “Chrome Dome” mobile command post that stayed in the air continuously for over 30 years, as well as Mission Crew Commander on an E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). Jerry was awarded numerous medals and ribbons, most notably the Distinguished Flying Cross. While in the military, Jerry also continued his education, earning a Master’s Degree in Education.
After retiring from the Air Force in 1989, Jerry worked as a Psychometrist for Oklahoma schools and students for the next 15 years. Jerry retired full-time in 2004, and for the next six years he took advantage of his newly acquired free time to spend with family and grandkids, as well as embarking on some incredible travel adventures including a number of “hops” (as he called them) to Hawaii, Germany, plus an extended time in Australia to name a few. He always had a special love for his prized white 1980 Corvette, and as an avid Oklahoma State fan, Jerry enjoyed all things OSU, especially attending OSU football and basketball games.
Jerry met Sandra Reid and they married in 2010. Welcoming Jerry into their family were Sandra’s son Robert and daughter Susan. Together, Jerry and Sandra continued their love for travel, making trips to his beloved Hawaii, and also Brazil, Alaska, Germany, France and other fabulous destinations. Jerry always cherished his Western Oklahoma roots, and Jerry and Sandra spent countless weekends at their cabin, as they affectionately called “the lodge” on Foss Lake. In between, Jerry and Sandra crisscrossed the state attending their grandkids’ basketball, soccer and gymnastics events, as well as numerous family activities.
Jerry was preceded in death by his parents Homer and Frankie Hill of Clinton, OK, his wife Janice Hill of Clinton, OK and his brother-in-law Gayle Burnham of Muskogee, OK. Left to cherish his memory is his wife Sandra Hill of Tulsa, OK; his brother Dale Hill (Treva) of Albuquerque, NM; and his sister Wanda Burnham of Muskogee, OK. Also surviving him are Jerry’s children - his son Mark Hill (Jacquie) of Foss, OK; his daughter, Jana Burdge (Mike) of Edmond, OK; Robert Reid (Kim Mott) of Oklahoma City, OK; and Susan Reid of Tulsa, OK; twelve grandchildren: Gennevieve, Mark II, Chris, Megan, Mandi, Kendall, Emma, Jeffrey, Cecilee, Ruby, Ethan and Abbey; and 13 greatgrandchildren, as well as numerous extended family members and friends. Jerry will be dearly missed by everyone who knew him.
The family would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to Jerry’s wife Sandra for her extraordinary care given to him. Also, many thanks to the caregivers at Brookdale Midtown for the loving care they provided Jerry, and especially to Denise at Seasons Hospice for the timeand extra attention given Jerry and to the family.
A celebration of life to honor Jerry will be held at a later date when we can all congregate together again. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations may be made in Jerry’s honor to the Parkinson Foundation of Oklahoma (parkinsonoklahoma.com).