The Rev. Dr. Ellen R. Hill, assisting priest at St. James, Newport Beach, and retired rector of St. Michael and All Angels, Studio City, died Oct. 6 at age 87.
Hill – who before ordination was president and chief executive officer of Professional Management Associates, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lusk Co., builder of thousands of Southern California homes and dozens of shopping centers – was predeceased by her husband, Lamar M. Hill, long-time professor of history at UC Irvine, who died in 2021.
Survivors include the Hills’ daughter, Anne Hill of Portland, Oregon, and son, Andy Hill (Meredith Fisk), of Newport Beach, and grandchildren Thomas and Matthias Junker and Hayden and Brycen Hill, as well as many cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.
A service celebrating Hill’s life is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15, at St. James, Newport Beach, where Bishop John Harvey Taylor will officiate, joined by the Rev. Canon Cindy Evans Voorhees, rector.
Hill was sponsored for ordination by St. Andrew’s Church in Irvine, where she and family were parishioners. The Hills moved to Irvine in 1968 after residing in London, New York, and Ohio following their marriage in 1960.
Ordained to the priesthood in 1989 by then-Bishop Frederick H. Borsch in rites at St. James’ Church in Los Angeles, Hill assisted for at Church of the Messiah, Santa Ana, from 1988 to 1993 before being called as rector by the Studio City parish where she served for 10 years.
Born Ellen Ratkovich in 1938 in Akron, Ohio, Hill held a bachelor’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and a master’s of divinity from Claremont Theological School where she also earned a doctorate in ministry. Her doctoral research addressing rebirth of congregations after clergy misconduct and breach of pastoral trust received the president’s award of excellence. Hill also has written on the topic of parish stewardship and fund development.
Before ordination, Hill was for several years president of the Women’s Committees of the Orange County Philharmonic Society and remained a dedicated supporter of the Pacific Symphony.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. James’ Episcopal Church, 3209 Via Lido, Newport Beach, CA 92663; or to the Pacific Symphony via its website, or by mail to 17620 Fitch St., Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92614.