WA 98040 - John Gordon Hill led a spectacular life filled with love, integrity, kindness, compassion, generosity, humor, intelligence, curiosity, and grace. A gentleman and a gentle man, he was as loved as he was loving. A cheerleader to all. Devoted and beloved husband, father, grandfather, and brother. Accomplished and acclaimed filmmaker, theater director, teacher and lecturer, mentor, musician, composer, poet, arts advocate, history buff, science nerd, and philanthropist. He was a true renaissance man with a lifelong love of learning.

John was born in Seattle in 1952 and was a Seattleite through and through. His love of this city and state was as deep and as vast as his encyclopedic knowledge of it. He graduated from Mercer Island HS and studied filmmaking at the University of Washington, graduating in General Studies before there was an official film department.

In 1975 he moved to Boston where he worked at American Public Television and moonlighted as a taxi driver. It was there he met the love of his life, Ellen Smith. He fell in love at first sight, and they married shortly thereafter. When they decided to start a family, they chose to build their life on Mercer Island and never looked back. Upon his return to the Northwest, he started his own company, Hill Film, launching his career and the careers of many other filmmakers.

His filmmaking career spanned almost five decades, directing and shooting dramatic pieces, documentaries, and hundreds of television commercials and infomercials. A member of Directors Guild of America, his work included major projects for the Discovery Channel, CBS, PBS, Lifetime, and A&E, and twenty-five episodes of America's Most Wanted. His documentary on the 1962 World's Fair, When Seattle Invented the Future, aired on over 240 public television stations.

An avid music lover, musician, and composer, he produced several classical music albums. John composed numerous film scores and choral compositions. He sang with St. Paul's Episcopal Church Choir and was extremely active in the Seattle classical music community. Over the years, he served on multiple boards, including as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Cornish College of the Arts and as Board President of Youth Theatre NW.

John was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Mary Frances Hill. He is survived by his beloved wife Ellen; children Anne Thomson and husband James Thomson, Megan Hill and partner Brad Krumholz, Michael Hill and wife Liz Berry; grandchildren Felix, Toby, and Jasper Thomson, and George and Eleanor Hill; brother Stephen Hill and wife Beverley Hill; and missed by even more who considered him a mentor or friend.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 1pm on Saturday, September 27 at Cornish Playhouse. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Youth Theatre NW, an organization John supported for 40 years.

The world can be a dark place; make your corner brighter.

John did.