Meet your neighbor April Lee Hill, of rural Biggsville, born and raised in Palestine, on the Indiana border in the southern part of Illinois.
The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
By Dessa Rodeffer, Quill Publisher/Owner
Meet your neighbor April Lee Hill, of rural Biggsville, born and raised in Palestine, on the Indiana border in the southern part of Illinois.
April is employed at West Central Elementary as a full time Associate. She previously worked as an associate in Farmer City for five years in the Blue Ridge School District.
April graduated from Palestine High School in 1991. She was fortunate to be able to attend Patricia Stevens College, an all girls school in St. Louis, MO for two years. She majored in business and marketing and said the school gave her some good experiences.
While in St. Louis, she interned with Southwest Airlines marketing division, sponsors of the Ronald McDonald's house where she volunteered, and helped organize golf outings and fund raisers. She then attended Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, IL where she took general courses.
On June 19, 1999, at the Pleasant View Church in Palestine, April married Dan Hill, of Biggsville, a 1993 UHS graduate. Dan is the son of Robert and Connie Hill and Kathy and the late Jon Curtiss. His two siblings are Matt and "Rupe" Curtiss. He is the grandson of the late David and Dorothy Hill.
Dan is Illinois State Police District #14's Safety Education Officer.
April's parents are the late Roger Elder and Marcia Elder. Roger owned Roger Elder Trucking which he operated for 40 years traveling across the U.S. April would ride along with him, every chance she could get, she said. Her mother, a financial broker and treasurer of Heath Investment Capitol, was the Executive Secretary when it was Heath Candy Co. which was founded in Robinson until it was sold to Hersey Company. Marcia moved with them to her present job when it was sold to Hersey.
April has a sister Shanna (Sean) Ogle of Kathleen, GA.. they have two children Taylor (Freshman) and Dylan (6th grade). Shanna's husband Sean is a Major in the Air Force, a member of the joint surveillance and target attack radar system (JSTARS) and is currently stationed in Hawaii.
April and Dan have three sons, Alec, 19, a 2013 West Central graduate and Freshman at the Ivy League school Benjamin Franklin founded, the Univ. of Pennsylvania, with interests in English and History.
Conner is 12, and in 7th grade at West Central Middle School. He loves to read, enjoys Scholastic Bowl, and Speech, attends College for Kids and recently started a Harry Potter Club as an offering in the After School Program.
Ben is 10, a 4th grader at West Central Elementary, and enjoys playing the guitar and has been taking lessons for a year and a half and spends a lot of time practicing. He is in Cub Scouts.
April is a member of the Presbyterian Church in Biggsville where the family attends and sometimes helps with the Thursday evening soup suppers at 5:30 p.m. and other events.
Her hobbies are baking and decorating cakes. She enjoys trying creative things like knitting and crocheting, loves to read about anything, and is not a big TV viewer.
She has traveled to visit family, recently has had trips to her sister's in Georgia, and with Alec to Pennsylvania to see Philadelphia and Gettysburg.
The family enjoy pets Marley, a golden doodle and Sinatra, a yellow rescue cat.
A quote April likes and always tells her boys:
"Be nicer than necessary, because everyone struggles with something."