It is with a grieving heart and grateful spirit that I share this memorial for my boss, mentor, visionary, renaissance man and friend, John Gordon Hill. A Mercer Island native, proud son, husband, father and grandfather, arts supporter, community champion and mean harpsichord plucker, John gave his all to so very much. We are so very thankful to you and your legacy, John.
With appreciation to Megan, Anne and Michael - and families for sharing these remembrances and photos.
John Gordon Hill died unexpectedly but peacefully in his sleep August 10th, 2025.
He led a spectacular life filled with love, integrity, kindness, compassion, generosity, humor, intelligence, curiosity, and grace. A gentleman and a gentle man. He was as beloved as he was loving. A cheerleader to all. Devoted husband, father, grandfather, and brother. An accomplished and acclaimed filmmaker (director, cameraman, and producer), theater director (Youth Theatre Northwest, 14/48), teacher and lecturer (YTN, Seattle Central Community College, UW, Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center, Silent Movie Mondays at The Paramount), mentor, musician (piano, harpsichord, and guitar), composer, poet, arts advocate, history buff, science nerd, and philanthropist. He was a true renaissance man and lifelong student, always in the pursuit of learning more and expanding his knowledge without ego, only genuine interest and love.
John was born in Seattle in 1952 and was a Seattleite through and through. His love of this city and state was as deep and as vast as his encyclopedic knowledge of it. He graduated from MIHS and studied filmmaking at the University of Washington, graduating in General Studies, before there was an official film department. His main interest was in documentaries. One of the first documentaries he produced, in 1973, was a short called Sandy and Madeleine’s Family.
In 1975 he moved to Boston where he worked at American Public Television managing their film library and moonlighted as a taxi driver. It was there he met the love of his life, Ellen Smith. He fell in love at first sight (she took a little more time) and they married shortly after--a bonafide meet-cute. When they decided to start a family, they chose to build their life on Mercer Island and never looked back. Upon his return to the Northwest, he worked at Cinema Associates before starting his company, Hill Film, launching his career and the careers of many other filmmakers.
His filmmaking career spanned almost five decades, directing and shooting dramatic pieces, documentaries, and hundreds of television commercials and infomercials (one commercial for Valley Medical Center was the first and possibly only commercial ever to feature an actual birth). A member of Directors Guild of America, some of his work included major projects for the Discovery Channel, Fox Television, CBS, PBS, Lifetime, and A&E, and twenty-five episodes of America’s Most Wanted. John’s work received numerous Tellys, Addies, regional Emmys, a Clio, and a CINE Golden Eagle. His film Dawn on the Island chronicled the history of Mercer Island and his documentary on the 1962 World’s Fair, When Seattle Invented the Future, has aired on over 240 public television stations. He most recently was an Executive Producer for the acclaimed documentary Sweetheart Deal, and at the time of his death he was in the midst of working as Director of Photography on the independent film Arson of Crows.
An avid music lover, musician, and composer he produced several classical music albums. John composed numerous film scores and choral compositions. He sang with St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Choir and was active in the Seattle classical music community. He served on multiple boards throughout Seattle, including Chair of the Board of Trustees of Cornish College of the Arts and Board President of Youth Theatre Northwest. On Mercer Island, he lectured in his kids’ classrooms, taught film to middle schoolers, directed multiple productions at Youth Theatre Northwest, promoted school bond issues, and championed the Mercer Island Center for the Arts. He was honored as a Paul Harris Fellow by the Mercer Island Rotary for “Service Above Self”.
Although his credits are impressive and his career long, he was made up of so much more than credits. There aren’t enough lines in an obituary to fully encapsulate his reach and the number of lives he touched.
John was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Mary Frances Hill. He is survived by his beloved wife Ellen; children Anne Thomson and husband James Thomson, Megan Hill and partner Brad Krumholz, Michael Hill and wife Liz Berry; grandchildren Felix, Toby, and Jasper Thomson, George and Eleanor Hill; brother Steve Hill and wife Beverley Hill; and family and friends across the country and globe.
Please consider a donation to organizations that better the lives of others, through artistic and cultural enrichment or humanitarian aid, such as Youth Theatre Northwest, an organization John supported for 40 years.
The world can be a dark place; make your corner brighter. John did.