Individual Details

JOHN LUKE HILL, JR, a servant of God, a man of family and friends, and a dedicated steward of the State of Texas, was welcomed into Heaven on Monday, July 9, 2007. John L. Hill Jr. was born October 9, 1923 in Breckenridge, Texas. His childhood was spent in Kilgore, Texas, where he received his early education. He was National Debate Champion while at Kilgore University. He attended the University of Texas as an undergraduate, where he was active in campus politics, Sigma Alpha Epsilon social fraternity, and was a member of the Texas Cowboys honorary service organization, where he served as Foreman (the president of that group.) He was also elected to the Friar Society, the oldest honorary society at the University of Texas. He served in the United States Navy during World War II, serving in the Pacific. His rank was First Lieutenant. After the War, he returned to the University Of Texas School Of Law, where he graduated in 1947. He received many awards during law school. Judge Hill practiced law for over 60 years. He was an associate with the firm Helm and Jones, and then was a founding partner of Hill Brown Kronzer and Abraham, where he practiced for approximately 15 years. He was then a solo practitioner for several years. Always active in politics, he was appointed Secretary of State of the State of Texas by Governor John Connally. He served in that office from March 12, 1966 until January 1968. While in that office, he instituted many reforms, including installing the Uniform Commercial Code and the many recording and informational policies and procedures which accompanied that code in its day to day application and use by lenders, borrowers, and others. He returned to the private practice of law from 1968 until the end of 1972. In November of 1972 he was elected Attorney General of Texas, taking office on January 1, 1973. He served thereafter until January 1979. He revolutionized that office, particularly with the institutionalization of the opinion process, open records, and open meetings law. He organized the environmental protections division, the consumer protection division, and was the first Attorney General to open regional offices around the state so that the office was more accessible to the public. Other major issues successfully handled by him as Attorney General included drug enforcement, banking matters, and the rights of children in various homes and schools. John Hill was also the first attorney general of the modern era to personally argue in the United States Supreme Court. He appeared in that court seven times, personally arguing the death penalty case, Southland Royalty case involving intrastate and interstate gas regulation issues, the Howard Hughes case, and the Louisiana vs. Texas case establishing the offshore boundary of those states for mineral royalty calculations. Another landmark case in the state court system was against Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, establishing the inherent right of the State to protest unreasonably high utility rates. It is in the books; he personally tried and argued it. The aftermath of that holding was the creation of the Public Utility Commission. He then joined a firm titled Hughes and Hill, with offices in Dallas and Austin. He was a leading trial lawyer for the firm, with many interesting cases including assisting EDS with issues concerning personnel and assets in Iran during times of international crises involving that country. In 1984, he was elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, ably serving in that office until January 1988. He resigned to campaign for changes in the manner of electing or selecting judges to sit in the state judicial system. He then practiced at the law firm which became Locke Liddell & Sapp. He retired from that firm in 2005. He then became a shareholder in the law firm known as Winstead, serving as a senior member of the Appellate Section. Considered one of the best trial lawyers in the country, he was a member of the fellows of The American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the International Society of Barristers, and the American Board of Trial Advocates. He was a member of the American Judicature Society, serving as president of the Texas Chapter. He was a member of the Order of the Coif Legal Society. He served as President of Texans for Judicial Excellence. He received many awards throughout his distinguished legal career, including the Leon Green Award for Outstanding Service to the Legal Profession, the America Judicature Society Herbert Hawley Award, the Freedom of the Press Award, the Marc Gold Award for Outstanding Service to the Mentally Retarded, the Karen H. Susman Jurisprudence Award, and the Lola Wright Foundation Award for Legal Ethics. In 1991, Judge Hill was being named Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Texas. He was formerly Chair of the Chancellor's Counsel and long-time member of the board Texas Exes. In 1997 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the University Of Texas School Of Law. Along with family and friends, he established the John L. Hill Trial Advocacy Center at the University of Texas School of Law. Dedicated on April 2, 2004, the Center oversees the practical training of UT Law students in trial and appellate advocacy. The Center houses the John L. Hill Teaching Courtroom, as well as three additional teaching courtrooms named in honor of other distinguished UT Law Alumni. With his friend Ernest Stromberger, he recently completed a book about his service as Attorney General of Texas. That book is slated for publication in the fall of this year. John Hill had many interests, including golf, hunting, and fishing. He was a great friend, who worked hard at being a friend. The stories and humorous things he has done through the years remain a source of delight to those who knew him. He loved spending time with family and friends at the Double LL Ranch in Dripping Springs, Texas. He particularly enjoyed driving visitors around the ranch, pointing out interesting trees, creeks, hill-top views, animals, and other things he observed. His entertaining and pithy comments were legendary. Judge Hill was a very active member of St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Houston. He served in many capacities, including service on the Board of Stewards and the St. Luke's United Methodist Church Foundation. John L. Hill and Elizabeth Anne Graham were married in Olney, Texas on April 4, 1946. They recently celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary. Their loving devotion to each other was beautiful to behold and experience. Judge Hill was preceded in death by his parents, John L Hill Sr. and Jessie Hoover Hill. He was also preceded in death by his sister, Laverne Collum. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Anne Graham Hill of Houston. He is also survived by his children and their spouses, Melinda Hill Perrin and husband Michael W. Perrin, J. Graham Hill and wife Lindy M. Hill, Judge Martha Hill Jamison and her husband Bruce K. Jamison, all of Houston. He is survived by one niece, Chris Collum Burkett and husband Harold of Grapevine, Texas. He is survived by grandchildren, Elizabeth Perrin Eades and husband Jonathan, Jeffrey Carter Perrin and wife Elizabeth, Hunter Hill Perrin and wife Mary Bonner, John Graham Hill, Jr. and fiancée Maria Alsen, Anne Taylor Hill, Peter Charles Hill, Randolph Bolton Hill, Matthew Thomas Clark, Meredith Virginia Clark, Samuel Luke Jamison. He is also survived by four great-grandchildren, Gracelin May Perrin, Eliza Eve Perrin, Oliver Michael Eades, and Elizabeth Graham Eades. Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from five o'clock in the afternoon until seven.
Published in Houston Chronicle from July 10 to July 13, 2007- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/houstonchronicle/obituary.aspx?n=john-luke-hill&pid=90472625#sthash.7yV4FIwW.dpuf

Birth	9 Oct 1923	Breckenridge, Stephens County, Texas
Marriage	4 Apr 1946	Olney, Young County, Texas - Living
Residence	13 Nov 2000	Houston, Harris County, Texas
Death	9 Jul 2007	Houston, Harris County, Texas
Burial		Glenwood Cemetery, Houston, Harris County, Texas

Spouse	Living
Child	Living
Child	Living
Child	Living

Father	John Luke Hill Sr. (1900 - 1986)
Mother	Jessie George Hoover (1902 - 1982)
Sibling	Laura Laverne Hill (1922 - 1969)

Notes