Honor Mourns the Loss of Dr. Hill

A Pillar of the Pontiac Medical Community

Pontiac, Mich. – Honor Community Health lost an important member of its family this past week, with the passing of Dr. William E. Hill, a longtime obstetrics and gynecology doctor in the Pontiac area.

Dr. Hill spent the better part of the last 10 years of his professional career working with Honor, lending his medical expertise to numerous young, aspiring physicians and medical assistants before retiring from the profession in 2018.

“He had devoted all of his professional life to caring for patients in the community,” said Dr. Nikhil Hemady, Honor Community Health’s Chief Medical Officer. “He was such an integral part of Honor Community Health. His life was all about taking care of his patients, ensuring that the next generation learned about obstetrics, and the proper way of taking care of the patients. That was his passion. He loved teaching residents, medical students, nurses and medical assistants.”

Hemady, who was a resident under Dr. Hill nearly 26 years ago, said Dr. Hill ‘s enthusiasm and passion for teaching was just as strong now as it was when he first him. “Dr. Hill stayed so current in medicine until his retirement from our department, it was incredible. He was a pillar, a foundational pillar of not only this hospital, but of obstetrics. His name is frequently associated with high-quality care.”

Originally from Tennessee, Dr. Hill graduated from Howard University College of Medicine and, along with his wife Betty, moved to Michigan in 1965 to practice medicine in Pontiac, where he spent more than 40 years at Pontiac General Hospital. He was the former chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Pontiac General Hospital. He essentially led the OBGYN efforts at Honor until his retirement. It is estimated that he was responsible for the delivery of more than 7,000 babies over the course of his career.

“It’s a huge loss,” Hemady said. “Dr. Hill was a legend. Everybody knows of him. When you walk into the Family Medicine Center, there are probably at least three generations, if not four, of patients that have been delivered by him. He will surely be missed.”

Dr. Hill’s funeral was held Monday, Sept. 27 at Sparks-Griffin Funeral Home in Pontiac.