Mary Jane Hill, age 75, of Portland, Oregon passed away on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, from complications due to diabetes, heart disease, and a recent respiratory illness, two among several illnesses which she courageously struggled with for years. Mary Jane was born on May 18, 1949, to the late Charles Allen Hill and Eleanor Smith Hill. Her mother died when she was seven years old. Charles Hill reared her and her two older sisters, Roberta and Rose, alone, until he remarried when Mary was sixteen. Mary graduated from West High School in 1967. On her eighteenth birthday, her stepmother told the newly graduated teen that she had to move out on that day. Mary was unprepared for living on her own. Her older sister, Roberta and her husband Griff, invited Mary to live with them. She attended UW-GB Extension for one semester. When her father died in December 1968, she was nineteen, living in an apartment with fellow students, and had to quit college because she suffered from the onset of a chronic, devastating illness which required months of hospitalization. With the support of Roberta's in-laws, Mary Jane recovered, worked as a telephone operator like her sister, Roberta, then returned to college. While in college, she traveled with classmates to England where she saw the Beatles in concert and on the streets of Liverpool. Joining the 1960s countercultural revolution, she moved to San Francisco, a city and time she often recalled with a life-long love. The working-class city of the 1960s was a thrilling, tough place for a young, remarkably beautiful, and naïve Oneida woman. She was an accomplished actor and worked as a clown in Golden Gate Park and children's venues. Due to the relapse of her illness, she had to stop that work. She was disabled and had disability benefits, but she wanted a permanent position, and couldn't find one. She lived in a tough area and faced several assaults, one of which she fought back bravely, went to court and put the man in prison. Her two sisters helped her financially in these difficult years. Elsa says her mother held those memories and connections to San Francisco in the 1960s to the 1980s close to her heart.

In the mid-1980s, she loved and lived with Daniel, a Vietnam Vet who suffered from exposure to agent orange. She gave birth to their daughter, Elsa, in 1984. The couple faced hardship in the changing economy of San Francisco. Due to his alcoholism and their illnesses, Mary decided that with her new baby, it was best that they part. Daniel went home to Oakland. She took up the task of being a single mother. She worked part-time at low-paying, temporary jobs to support herself and Elsa. In impoverished circumstances, Mary was creative in ways of getting their needs met. Her two sisters helped her as well. By the mid-1980s, San Francisco had changed dramatically. Due to the IT giants' influx of venture capital, jobs in high tech created Silicon Valley. San Francisco, the working class, charismatic city had become a playground for millionaires. Working class people couldn't live in the city. Rose and Roberta urged Mary to move away. On the day of the 1989 great earthquake, Rose drove to Portland, Oregon, to visit Mary and Elsa and encourage them to move to Portland. Just before they entered the Golden Gate Bridge exit, Elsa wanted a balloon, so the three went into a card shop to get little Elsa a balloon. When Elsa spun a card rack, Mary told her to stop because she was making the walls shake. They looked around and felt the earthquake. Everyone ran outside, hugged in a circle, and watched the earth roll like waves in a tsunami. The Golden Gate Bridge was twisting, collapsing; backed-up cars were crashing, screeching; people were screaming for help. Several months later, Rose took Mary and Elsa to live in Portland.

Life there was much better with the help of Mary's oldest sister, Rose Hill. Mary attended Portland State College to study Library Science and worked part-time as a librarian aid. She also helped children to learn to read. She also had a job she enjoyed at Honey Baked Ham in the Lloyd Center; both businesses have closed. She loved and cared for her daughter, although her illnesses limited her ability to work. When Elsa was grown, Mary moved into the central downtown area of Portland, so Elsa could have their apartment. Living downtown, she created collages from fabric. Her collages were playful, tactile landscapes. They were displayed in her building and nearby shops. She enjoyed coffee shops, listening to music and drinking coffee. She loved city life; however, she grew increasingly ill from diabetes, heart disease, and an inherited eye disease. She had knee replacement surgery and was legally blind. She knew many of the homeless people by name and they knew her. She enjoyed her small apartment. As her illnesses caused more suffering, keeping up with her medical needs, her personal care, shopping, cleaning, in the midst of limited vision eventually led to her needing assisted living care. She had help in her final years at the assisted living and rehabilitation centers. She experienced a lot of pain and struggled with blindness, but she tried her best to let her daughter and sisters know how she felt and how much she loved them. She found joy and happiness in giving gifts and was delighted in receiving them. She studied and remained curious about many things and happenings in the world. She would look them up on the IPAD her daughter gave her. Her favorite interest was in angels. She believed they helped her in all her times of need. When her sisters needed help, they'd ask Mary to talk to her angels, which she said were eight-foot-tall shimmering entities. The family thanks the staff of the Avalon Care Center and Roberto at Marquis Vermont Hills Assisted Living and Rehabilitation for the care they provided to Mary Jane Hill in the years she struggled against her severe illnesses, limited sight and frail health.

Mary is survived by her daughter, Elsa Hill, of Portland, Oregon; her sister, Rose Hill, of Portland, Oregon; her sister, Roberta Hill, of Barneveld, Wisconsin; her nephew, Jacob Hill, of Madison, Wisconsin, her step-nieces, Heather Whiteman-Carriveau of Cottage Grove, Minnesota and Missy Whiteman of Minneapolis, Minnesota; her cousin, Gerald Hill of Oneida, Wisconsin, her high school friend, Sandy Skenandore of Oneida, Wisconsin, her cousin, Norbert Hill of Oneida, and other relatives and friends.

Mary Jane was preceded in death by her parents Eleanor and Charles; her brothers, Joseph and Charles; her nephew Zachary; her cousins Pat, Charlie, Rick, Jimmy, Barbara; her uncles and aunts, her maternal grandparents, Mike and Jesse (Jena Band, Choctaw) and paternal grandparents, Abram (aka Harguelunt, aka Charles) Hill and Dr. Lillie Rosa Minoka Hill.

The Omega Center in Portland, Oregon held a memorial service for Mary Jane Hill on February 1, 2024. Ryan Funeral Home will conduct her burial on April 26, 2024 in the Oneida Tribal Cemetery. Condolences and loving memorials of Mary Jane Hill may be sent to Roberta Hill, 7660 Lone Pine Road, Barneveld, WI 53507.