Remembering Thom Hill

Sharing the Passing of WAA’s First Executive Director

1946 - 2023

It is with great sadness that we share the death of Thom Hill, one of WAA’s founding board members (1979); the first WAA president (1980); and our inaugural Executive Director (1987.) Thom passed away on June 13.

At a time when WAA was run entirely by a volunteer board, Thom dedicated countless hours to professionalize WAA, and played a pivotal role in establishing WAA as a major performing arts convenor.

As Tim Wilson — WAA’s Executive Director from 1997 - 2022 — recalls, “Thom laid the foundation for what WAA would become, and still is today. Along with Jerry Willis, Thom nurtured the culture and vision for WAA as a collegial environment — a welcoming and fun place to do business, a space to enjoy gathering as friends and colleagues, rather than competitors.”

Thom Hill with his wife, Sheryl Hill in the early WAA days (left); recent photo of Thom Hill (right) 

Those who knew Thom all speak of his warmth, wit, and innate ability to make people feel welcome and at ease.

“Thom was a talented public speaker whose sense of humor sparkled during WAA assemblies. He went out of his way to welcome new members and make them feel at home with colleagues across the West,” shared Tom Mitze, an inaugural board member alongside Thom, and former WAA President (1983 - 84.)

Thom rightfully earned the moniker of ‘Conference Planner Extraordinaire’ in 1979 after a fire in the Monterey, CA conference hotel room destroyed all the conference registration and program materials.

“The first time I heard the name Thom Hill I was standing outside the hotel in Monterey in the middle of the night with other conference attendees waiting for an ‘all-clear’ to return to our rooms after the fire.  That was my first WAA conference, and I was new to this whole presenting business,” remembers 1988-1990 WAA President, Lois Wagner. “What we heard standing outside was that all the conference materials were gone, burned in the fire. Oh boy! So, imagine everyone’s incredible surprise the next day when registration was up and running - nearly on time. We learned he had retrieved all the masters for conference registration, woke up a local printer in the middle of the night, and had everything printed, collated and ready to go by the start of the conference the next day. That sealed my admiration for Thom Hill, Conference Planner Extraordinaire!”

Thom departed WAA in 1988 to serve as Dean of Administrative and Cultural Services at Citrus College, where he had been working as Director of Performing Arts since 1974, and throughout his WAA tenure. Thom moved to Santa Ana College in 1990 where he served as Dean of Fine and Performing Arts until his retirement in 2007.

Thom’s commitment to serving community extended into all parts of his life; a longtime resident of Glendora, CA, Thom was recognized with their 2012 Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Award for exceptional contributions to his community.

We give thanks to Thom for his tireless dedication and leadership, which sowed the seeds for the decades of growth and success WAA and our community has benefited from.

Our heartfelt condolences go to Thom’s wife, Sheryl Hill, his extended family, and all who knew him.

A memorial service will be held at 11am on Saturday, August 5 at Glenkirk Church in Glendora, CA.