VALEEHILL: The Obituary of My Sister, Margaret Rose HILL

Tuesday, March 31, 2026

The Obituary of My Sister, Margaret Rose HILL

Margaret Rose Hill

22 Jul 1952 - 09 Mar 2026

My only remaining sister, Margaret Rose HILL, a retired UCSD research associate and long-time resident of San Diego County, died on March 9, 2026, at the age of 73, after a valiant 2-year battle with her third cancer—metastatic lung adenocarcinoma (she was a never-smoker). Even though she described herself as physically sensitive and delicate, she was fully committed to her treatments and fought a brave battle. She remained upbeat and committed throughout.

Margaret is survived by me, her baby sister, Virginia, my daughter, Angela, our sister, Jacqueline’s sons, Josh, and Caleb, several grand-nephews, and one grand-niece. She also leaves behind her best friend of many years, Derek.

Margaret was born in Honolulu on July 22, 1952, to Jack Telford HILL and Patricia DeCOSTA, although she always considered San Diego her hometown. She was the oldest of three daughters. She was just 1 year and 10 months older than our middle sister, Jacqueline, and they grew up extremely close. She was 7 years older than me and put up with my childish shenanigans. Showing much patience with her bratty baby sister. She was the most affected by the death of our mother in 1963. She spoke of our mother with much love throughout her life. She was a member of the first graduating class of Royal High School in Simi Valley, CA, in 1970. She attended San Diego City College from 1975 to 1977 as a Life Sciences major. She received her A.S. in Animal Health Technology from San Diego Mesa College in 1978. She attended the University of California, San Diego, from 1988 to 1991, earning a Bachelor's Degree in psychology, and proudly worked at UCSD from 1978 to 2000 as a research associate. She was heavily involved with Ramona Trails Association and Backcountry Horsemen of California-San Diego. As a volunteer and a board member. She was a lifelong well-informed progressive and agnostic. She was committed to vegetarianism, nature preservation, conserving of our natural resources, and civic responsibility. Margaret was detail-oriented in everything she did, and wouldn't think of letting an error get by her.

Margaret enjoyed nothing more than trail riding and camping. She purchased her first horse, a very special purebred Arabian gelding, MHR Port Typhoon, in 1983. She was fortunate to own two other beloved, amazing horses, both Peruvian Pasos. Nortado and Doña Luna Crescenta. She and I enjoyed riding the trails together, and later, after our life with horses was over, we loved camping in her beloved Roadtrek van. Our 5-month West Coast States Adventure in 2019 was the highlight of our camping experiences. She had the companionship of several dogs throughout her adult life: Punkin, Tinker, Retta, Tonga, and Peaches (above photo). Her first companion animals were two house rabbits, Rueben and Kamar, whom she had during her twenties. She enjoyed 1970s soft rock and smooth jazz music. After years of technical reading as a straight-A student and as a dedicated research associate, in retirement, she favored medical and psychological thrillers, with Jack Reacher novels among her favorites. As her physical abilities declined, she found several television shows that gave her great pleasure. She especially loved Reacher, Tracker, The Lincoln Lawyer, Heartland, Dark Winds, Law & Order: SVU, Jimmy Kimmel LIVE, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Some of her favorite movies were the Jason Bourne series, the Black Knight series, the Jesse Stone series, the Jack Ryan series, Jaws, the Jurassic Park and World series, and the Mission Impossible series. She very much appreciated technology and was an accomplished Apple/Mac devotee.

She did not want a funeral service or memorial, but her wishes will be granted regarding her cremains. I was her sole caretaker at home for nearly two years, and at the end, Derek was at her side at the hospice house. She was loved, she is missed, and she will be remembered with respect and affection. Always.