Joyce Hill

Iva Joyce Hill was born on October 12, 1929, in the small Texas Panhandle town of Canadian to George and Gladys Hill, both now deceased. She graduated from West Texas A&M in Canyon, TX, in 1949 and went on to pursue additional studies at Scarritt College (1952) and George Peabody College (1957) in Nashville, TN, Union Theological Seminary in New York City in 1963, and the New School for Social Research in 1975. In September 1951, she was accepted as a candidate for missionary service in Latin America and commissioned by the Board of Missions of the Methodist Church in January 1952. She was assigned to the Methodist Church in Cuba, where she taught English in mission schools in Havana, Camagüey, and Cienfuegos from 1952 to 1960. In the fall of 1959, she also served for a year at the rural social center in Santa Rosa, near the city of Matanzas. Following her departure from Cuba in 1960, Ms. Hill was assigned to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she worked alongside the national director of Christian Education and served as director of a church-sponsored residence for university women. In 1965, she was reassigned to Chile, serving as treasurer for the mission funds in that country. In 1968, she became one of the executive secretaries for Latin America and the Caribbean with the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church, based in New York City in 1968—a position she held until her retirement in 1994. Fluent in Spanish, Ms. Hill also served as a simultaneous translator for United Methodist and ecumenical meetings, enabling Latin American leaders to speak in their native language. This gift led her and two colleagues to pioneer the first simultaneous translations in French, Portuguese, and Spanish at the United Methodist General Conference in 1976. Even after her retirement, she continued serving as a translator for board meetings, United Methodist Women Assemblies, and General Conferences for several years. In retirement, she became active in her local church in Norwalk, Connecticut, serving on the leadership team of United Methodist Women and as Lay Leader and Annual Conference member for many years. In 2018, she moved to the Brooks-Howell Home in Asheville, North Carolina, and became a member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Asheville. Ms. Hill is survived by her sister, Leta Hill Guild of Lansing, Michigan; her brother, Dr. Gene Hill (Glenda) of Asheville, NC; two nieces and one nephew: Barbara Guild Czajka (Gordon), Misha K. Hill (Hope), and Annika Hill Weis (Clint); and five great-nieces and one great-nephew. She was preceded in death by her niece, Susan Guild Wild (Michael). A memorial service will be held at the Brooks-Howell Home Chapel in Asheville, North Carolina, on June 26, 2025, at 3:00 p.m., officiated by Rev. Kelly Dotson and Rev. Stephanie Foretich-McKey. Following the service, Joyce’s cremated remains will be interred in the Brooks-Howell rose garden. Memorial donations may be made to Brooks-Howell Home, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, or a charity of your choice.

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Joyce Hill

October 12, 1929 - June 17, 2025