Monday, February 2, 2015
Page 4
Former Los Angeles Attorney John W. Hill Dies at 79
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Services were to be held in Rancho Palos Verdes this past Saturday for former Los Angeles attorney John W. Hill.
Hill, a member of the County’s Bar’s delegation to what is now the Conference of California Bar Associations for over 20 years, and a member of its Executive Committee in 2011 and 2012, was 79. He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the County Bar’s Litigation Section at one time.
The cause of death was prostate cancer, according to a paid obituary in Thursday’s Daily Breeze.
The obituary read in part:
“He earned a B.S. degree in Psychology from the University of Illinois in 1957. After college, John enlisted in the Marines and served his country faithfully for two years. John moved out to Long Beach, California where he met his wife of over 40 years, Elizabeth D. Hill. John then worked in the insurance industry but always a person to seek out a challenge, John enrolled in law school and started practicing law in 1968. Seeking ways to push himself physically, John started running for the first time in his life. Soon he was completing marathons.”
Hill ran over 100 marathons and twice finished the Hawaii Ironman Triatholon, the obituary said. He also completed the 100 mile Western States 100 Race from Squaw Valley to Auburn; was the oldest person to swim the Catalina Channel, an effort that took 19 hours; and climbed the highest mountains on three continents.
Survivors include sons Greg Hill and Andy Hill, and five grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations be made to the Sierra Club.
State Bar records show that Hill was disbarred last October after his default was entered. A State Bar Court judge found that he had failed to answer a complaint against a client or move for relief from the ensuing default, that he failed to refund the client’s $1,500 fee, and that he did not cooperate with the State Bar’s investigation.
A footnote to the opinion said there had been no contact between Hill—whom the obituary said suffered from dementia—and the State Bar concerning the case since January 2013.
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