Mary Hill Credit: Courtesy
On July 22, 2026, the world lost one of its strongest, funniest, most fiercely loving people, one with the deepest love for her family and friends and equipped with a hysterical, no-holds-barred sense of humor.
Mary Siegchrist Hill was born on June 4, 1947, in Randolph, Vt. As a little girl she began playing piano, studying with Florence (“Mrs. C”) Cushman, the improbably relocated piano genius. Mary’s talent was obvious, and it took her to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Manhattan School of Music, where she graduated with her master’s degree at 21. After two years of teaching piano and English in Philadelphia — where she was part of the first Earth Day in 1970 – she met the love of her life in, of all places, her mom’s house in Randolph, Vt.
She and Fred married in 1971, and Jamie and Kate quickly followed, in 1972 and 1975. The next many years were the happiest of Mary’s life, with kids and cousins running around, piano recitals, family trips, and endless hours spent reading. Mary fell in love with reading when she was very young, and her bibliophilia shaped her adult life. Her list of books to read extended to a filled notebook, and every birthday and Christmas featured carefully chosen books, tailored to each recipient. If someone told her a book was great, she’d read it even if it wasn’t something she’d necessarily choose herself. Her passion for reading extended to an uncanny understanding of grammar and a vast vocabulary, which she passed to her kids and grandkids.
Like everyone’s, Mary’s life held its share of sorrow and struggle, and while sometimes these brought her to her knees, at her heart she was utterly indomitable. Her strength took its shape through her keeping on keeping on: playing piano, raising her kids, tending her beautiful home and garden, volunteering — and of course reading.
In the 1990s Mary joined the board of the Vermont Mozart Festival, which gave her community, music and lifelong friends. She celebrated Jamie’s and Kate’s marriages and the births of her grandkids (and granddogs). Over the years she dispensed laundry tips, edits for college essays, hugs, tears and a ton of love. She was someone who knew what made her happy and who never stopped trying to find it.
Mary is survived by her husband of nearly 55 years, Fred; her two favorite kids, Jamie and Kate; daughter-in-law, Shannon, and son-in-law, Jonathan; beloved grandkids, Anna-Rose, Henry and Phoebe; brother Charlie and sister-in-law, Jean; cousins, Juda and Fran; and her dear friend Joy. She was predeceased by her brother Mark.
As we remember and mourn this lovely woman, we can all take comfort in knowing she’s enjoying a beautiful sunny day (not too hot and not too cold), same-day book shipping from Amazon, some plants to take care of (but no monsteras), silver to polish, and not a snake anywhere in the entire universe.
