Cover photo for Harvey D. Hill's Obituary
Harvey D. Hill Profile Photo

Harvey D. Hill

October 22, 1935 — May 26, 2022

North Charlestown, NH

Harvey D. Hill

Born on October 22, 1935, Harvey D. Hill, passed away on Thursday, May 26, 2022, at his home after a courageous period of failing health. He was lifetime resident of Sullivan County, NH.

Harvey grew up on a dairy farm on the River Rd. in North Charlestown, NH with his now deceased parents, Dwight, and Inez (Nourse) Hill and his 3 siblings, also deceased, Marion (Honey) LeClair, Patricia Lowrey, and Larry Hill. Harvey graduated from Charlestown High School and went onto secondary education at Becker College in Worcester, MA and graduated with an A.S. in 1955.

 

After graduating Harvey was an accountant for a car agency and the American Oil Company. He then held various financial positions for Bemis Company, a specialty paper mill. He later moved into manufacturing and on to general management. During this time, he raised his three children with his first wife, Betty Ann (Smith) Thompson, in Claremont and Unity, NH. It was here that Harvey taught his children to appreciate the outdoors, by walking in the woods and enjoying the earth. He also practiced and taught them organic gardening.

 

Harvey was an entrepreneur and a philanthropist. He was a self-made man.

 

 He had the vision and drive to acquire Bemis (the mills in Claremont, NH and Ryegate, VT) in 1977. He turned that venture into a profitable endeavor and sold the CPM, Inc. in 1995.

Additional business experience included: one of the original founders of Whitney-Blake, co-founder of Aviator Footwear, Principal of Dodge Falls Hydro, principal of Claremont Hydro Associates, principal of Upon the Hill Holsteins, and one of the original founders of 1 Mind Corporation (Pegastystems, Inc.).

Harvey was associated with multiple committees. Some of those included founding director of Upper Valley Community Foundation, director of the NH Higher Education Loan Corp., director of Valley Regional Hospital, founding member of Sullivan County Foundation, member of Ledyard Financial Advisors Advisory Board, school board member  in Claremont and Unity, town auditor of Unity, founding member of the Sullivan County 4-H Foundation, chair of the NH BIA Committee on Health care Cost Containment, board member and chair of Charlestown Economic Development Authority, board member of Sullivan County Economic Development Corporation, Claremont Chamber of Commerce Director, member of the NH Blue Cross- Blue Shield Board of Directors and past chairman, director of Leadership New Hampshire, board of directors- DHMC and chair of Finance Committee, board member of Vital Communities, chair of Fall Mountain Budget Committee, director of Connecticut River Bank, Director of NH Trust Company, and member of the Endowment for Health-Investment Committee.

 

When the Claremont Vocational College was seeking a new president, Harvey stepped up not once, but twice (now called River Valley Community College), to guarantee continuity and served as the Interim President. Harvey was the former Publisher and Owner of the Eagle Publications, Inc. which included the Eagle Times, the Weekly Flea, the Connecticut Valley Spectator, and the Message of the Week.

And when North Charlestown, NH was in desperate need of a new school it was Harvey who helped seed the funds necessary for the new facility.

Harvey’s motto was “if you are not a recipient of charity, then you should be a contributor”. He was a modest man and preferred to do many good deeds without recognition. He brought talent, time, and resources to find the right solution to many problems for the community. Harvey strove to leave things better for others.

 

In 1987 Harvey married Christina Richardson. Together they built a home in North Charlestown on property he acquired adjacent to the land he owned that was part of his growing up years. They established multiple vegetable, flower, and woodland gardens. It was here that Harvey was most fulfilled. He was a farmer at heart and never lost his passion for farming, gardening and being in the outdoors. He was an avid bird watcher, a beekeeper, a hunter, a hiker, and a planter of trees. Harvey enjoyed traveling around the world and throughout the United States with Chris.

He managed the property, located in Claremont, Unity, and Charlestown, in such a way as to enhance the natural resources using sustainable forestry practices. He wanted to preserve the land and avoid having this forest and farmland fragmented so that others could appreciate its beauty. Ultimately the land was gifted to the Upper Valley Land Trust in ­­­­­­­­2017 for permanent conservation.

 

Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Christina Hill, his daughter Cathy (Bruce) Boedtker of Brownsville, VT, his son Scott (Cheryl) Hill of Paxton, MA, his grandson Erik (Kelsey) Boedtker of Brownsville, VT, his granddaughter Erika Hill of Austin, TX., and grandson James Hill of Alabama. His son Bradley Hill predeceased him in 1986. He will also be lovingly remembered by Becky Richardson and her daughters Casey MacClay and Meghan Kerr. He will be sorely missed by his faithful companions, Chuwi and Cypress, who brought him daily joy.

 

Please join family and friends for a celebration of Harvey’s life on 1PM, June 6, 2022, at the Monarch Farms on 519 Jarvis Hill Rd., Claremont, NH.

Please dress casually for this “in the barn” remembrance.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the NH Charitable Foundation, 37 Pleasant St, Concord, NH 03301-4002 for The ­­­­Fund for Greater Claremont.

A private message of sympathy for the family may be done online at Cremation Society of New Hampshire at www.csnh.com

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Harvey D. Hill, please visit our flower store.

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Monday, June 6, 2022

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