« The Oakville Beaver, Friday January 11, 2002 - 9 Donna Hill: Merchant had passion for preserving Bronte's history She was a tree hugger long before it was fashionable. When the Bronte Outer Harbour was being developed, Donna Hill saved an old willow tree from the chainsaw. "She saw an orange `X' mark on an old willow tree where half the couples in Bronte had their first kiss. My grandmother physically stood in front of that tree and stopped any further cutting," said Suzy Pallo. "She loved living here," added her daughter Sue McNeice. "She was very passionate about pre serving Bronte's history, and she was the spark behind everything my father did (in his efforts to pre serve Bronte's heritage)." The wife of the late Bill Hill died Jan. 4 from complications Alzheimer's at age 83 at Maple Villa in Burlington. She had suf fered from Alzheimer's for about the past five years, and spent the last three months - since of death of her husband - in nursing care. A funeral service was held on Monday followed by burial at Trafalgar Lawn Cemetery. The Hills were in business for 54 years - they greeted customers and passersby at Lakeside Marketeria since June 1947. She was a life-long resident of Bronte, the daughter of John `Dub' Joyce, ^ who ran the local bar ber shop in the portion of the building now L : known as Bill Hill's [ Ice Cream Shoppe. "She spent her whole life at the cor ner of Bronte Road and Ontario Street," said her granddaugh ter. "She lived and worked on the same block where her ancestors lived and worked for seven gener ations." Her family owned and operat ed the former Ned Thompson Hotel, built during the mid-1800s. It was also the local stagecoach stop. In the early 1900s, it became known as the Glendella. It was the couple's residence. She inherited the house from her grandmother Mary Ann Joyce, who owned the hotel. And, she inherited the building that houses Lakeside Marketeria from her father. Bom on April 8, 1918, she attended the Bronte Public School, Centriller School and Oakville Trafalgar High School. During the mid- 1930s, she attend ed the Ontario College of Art, but was forced to drop out to care for her ailing mother. She married Hill, her "teenage sweet heart," on July 24, 1940. "It was love at first sight," said her granddaughter. She put her art career on hold to raise her two daughters, "plus they took in any neighbourhood chil dren who needed help," said her daughter. "From about age 20 to 50, her life revolved around kids, ani mals, and the business," she said. "She was the behind the scenes helper. She was completely devot ed to her family and everybody else's." At 55 years of age, she quietly revived her artist's career, hand crafting award-winning porcelain dolls - including elaborate cloth ing - for the next 20 years. She was one of the founders of the Bronte Historical Society dur ing the mid-1980s. 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