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Barbara Hill

Barbara S. Hill of East Rock, New Haven, passed away peacefully at Connecticut Hospice in Branford on Aug. 26, 2024, after a courageous battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. She was the wife of the late John A. Hill III, and the mother of Catherine Hill Conlin (Preston Handler) of Branford and John “Jack” A. Hill IV (Jillian Hill) of Old Saybrook. She is survived by her five loving grandchildren: Brenden, Blake (Gillian), and Miles Conlin, and Kate and Madeline Hill, and her nephews Samuel V. Schoonmaker IV and Eric Schoonmaker. She was predeceased by her brother Samuel V. Schoonmaker Ill.

Barbara was born in Newburgh, New York, on Oct. 17, 1943, the daughter of Samuel Vail and Catherine Wilson Schoonmaker, and graduated from Bennett College in Millbrook, New York.

Barbara was the broker and owner of Seabury-Hill Realtors in New Haven for over 40 years. Seabury-Hill Realtors was established in 1926 and was the first female-owned real estate company in the State of Connecticut. Throughout her career, she was honored as being a pioneer for women in business. She truly enjoyed working with all of her agents, clients, and fellow realtors, and all of them can recount colorful stories of their interactions with Barbara and her detailed notes. She was very proud that Seabury-Hill continues as a thriving family business with four family members involved.

Barbara was an exceptional tennis player who played competitively for most of her life, winning countless club tournaments. She enjoyed gardening and found it to be a welcome break from the stress of work. Barbara had a great zest for life; she enjoyed parties, dancing, dinner at Lenny’s, UConn basketball, buttercream frosted birthday cake, and swimming in the Long Island Sound. She loved to travel — especially to Sanibel Island every winter and other trips to Europe, the Caribbean, and beyond. She was a long-time member of the New Haven Lawn Club and a former member of the Pine Orchard Yacht and Country Club.

Barbara had many friends whom she kept in touch with. For years, it was cocktail parties, formal events, and dinners out, and then it later turned to more casual texts and phone calls — sharing photos and news of her life and updates about her grandchildren. She was grateful for all of her friends and enjoyed their company.

Most importantly, Barbara relished the role of being the matriarch of a family that meant everything to her. There were many holidays with carloads of gifts, festive attire, and special recipes from her husband John’s family cookbook. Her contagious excitement for these events will be dearly missed.

A celebration of life will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12, at the New Haven Lawn Club. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation www.pulmonarvfibrosis.org. Please see her online memorial @ www.wsclancy.com.