Gale Kenneth Hill

PORTAGE  --  Gale Kenneth Hill, age 88, of Portage, passed away on Monday, March 11, 2013 at Remington House in Pardeeville.

Gale was born in Pardeeville, WI, the son of Arthur and Jean (Barry) Hill on April 18, 1924.  He was a 1942 graduate of Pardeeville High School, and attended UW Madison for one year.  Gale served in the Army from 1946 to 1947.  After serving in the Army, he joined his father as a Chevrolet dealer in Pardeeville.  Gale married Donna Walsh on February 12, 1949.  They lived in Pardeeville until 1964 when they moved to Portage.  In 1959, Gale and his brother, Kent, bought the Chevrolet and Oldsmobile dealership in Portage.  After Kent’s passing, Gale became sole owner of the dealership.  In 1973, the dealership moved into his new building on Highway 51 South.  In 1982, Gale retired and sold the dealership to Vern Trecek.  He and Donna decided to become snow birds.  They wintered in Bonita Springs, Florida for thirty-four years.  They returned to Portage permanently in 2010.

Gale was an avid curler and golfer.  He was a past director of the Wisconsin Curling Association, and was a past member of the Portage Chamber of Commerce, the Portage Elks Club, the Portage Country Club, and the Portage Curling Club.  He had also been a member of the Pelican Nest Country Club, the Spanish Wells Country Club, and the Pardeeville Curling Club.  Gale was vice president and then president of the Bonita Beach Condominium Association and was vice president of the Lakemont Cove Condominium Association.  Gale had served as President of the Pardeeville School Board.  He had been a member of the Wisconsin Automobile and Truck Dealers Association, and the National Automobile Dealers Association.  Gale also was the area representative for the Chevrolet Dealer Council, the Oldsmobile Dealer Advisory Council, and the Milwaukee Zone Dealer Council.  He had been the secretary/treasurer for the Chevrolet Advertising Association and treasurer for the Oldsmobile Advertising Association.

Gale is survived by his wife of sixty-four years, Donna;  and his two children, Pamela (Rick) Dodd and Christy (Mike) Hurd.  He is further survived by four grandchildren, Kristin (Russ) Maass, Michael (Trisha) Dodd, Nicholas (Beth) Hurd, and Lindsay Hurd;  three great-grandchildren, Madison and Jaxson Maass, and Oliver Dodd;  Maxine Hill;  many nieces and nephews, other relatives and friends.  Gale was preceded in death by his mother and father, his brother, Kent, an infant son, Gary, his mother- and father-in-law, Arvilla and Herbert Walsh, and his brother-in-law, Herb Walsh.

Memorial services will be at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 14, 2013 at Portage United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Tom Countryman officiating.  Military honors will be provided at the church by Portage area veterans.  Inurnment will be private. Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. on Thursday at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, the Portage Food Pantry, or the Portage United Methodist Church.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Gerald Krumpos, Tivoli, the Remington House, and Home Health United Hospice.