Louise Lewis Hill, 1925-2023
IMB Photo

Louise Lewis Hill, an International Mission Board missionary emeritus who shared the gospel in Nigeria, died October 30, 2023. She was 98.

Louise was born Sept. 30, 1925, in Thorsby, Alabama, to the late George Dewey and Willa Lewis. She graduated from Greenwood High School in Greenwood, South Carolina, and received the Associate of Arts from North Greenville Junior College in Tigerville, South Carolina, the Bachelor of Arts from Winthrop College in Rook Hill, South Carolina, was licensed as a registered nurse at the South Carolina Baptist Hospital, in Columbia, South Carolina, and received the Master of Religious Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

She taught for a year before entering nursing school. After nursing school, she entered seminary in pursuit of a call to overseas missions. She met John Hill while working at a hospital in seminary. They married in 1951.

In 1951, the Foreign Mission Board (now International Mission Board) appointed Louise and John missionaries to Nigeria. Louise used her training as a nurse to serve the area around Igede-Ekiti. The couple also served at the Baptist missionary kid school in Osogbo. They moved to an area north of Nigeria and served in school administration, teaching and church planting and discipleship. After 35 years, they retired in 1990.

Louise was preceded in death by her husband, John B. Hill.

She is survived by her sons John Baker (Gail) Hill. Jr., of Gainesville, Georgia, Richard Wendell (Kathleen) Hill of Independence, Oregon, David Winston (Lisa) Hill of Macau; her daughter Joy Hill Hebert of Destrehan, Louisiana; 10 grandchildren; several great-grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held Dec. 30, at Greenlawn Baptist Church, in Columbia, South Carolina.

Read an obituary here.