Eileen Jackson

   Cause of her death was Pneumonia.

  General Information:

Eileen Jackson Hill

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on June 25, 1921 to Alexander Jackson and Jane (Caldwell) Jackson of Monaghan, Ireland. At the age of three, the family moved to Toronto where they opened the Jackson Store, a well-known dry goods store on Main Street in Toronto. With brothers Herb and Bert, she learned to play the piano and organ, both for pleasure and as church organists.

Eileen graduated from Malvern Collegiate Institute in 1942. Her talents in mathematics and physics led her to the School of Optometry at the University of Toronto where she took an accelerated degree in three years, due to wartime pressure. She often spoke of the VE Day news received while she was examining students' eyes at Rolph Road School.

On graduation, she worked with several well-known ophthalmologists in Toronto as well as setting up her own practice in Pickering. In the 1950's she was one of the first optometrists in Toronto to fit contact lenses and she ground the glass lenses herself.

In 1954 she met and married ophthalmologist Joseph C. Hill. While raising three children - Doug, Susan and Nancy - she always found time to bake cookies, sew for the Branksome bazaar, serve on committees at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, play the piano on demand, type academic papers for Joe or his students, and rush down to Joe's office to consult with a patient who needed a "field" done (a technical procedure she excelled at).
She was famous for hosting the annual "interns' Christmas party" as well as hosting the "interns' summer BBQ" in Muskoka.

In 1975 Joe opened a practice in Bracebridge and they began a professional life split between Toronto and Muskoka. During this time she became involved with the Presbyterian Church in Bracebridge.

In 1987 Joe and Eileen bought a house in Toronto to be close to their new grandchildren. They thoroughly enjoyed spoiling the kids and always made a point of having the family over for Sunday dinners.

Eileen was most at home at the cottage filling the house with music and keeping the cookie jars full. She played endless games of croquignole and no-peek-e with the kids and in later years dominated in dominos.

In 1995 Joe and Eileen moved to 955 Millwood and Joe passed away the next year. In the following years Eileen made many new friends at 955 Millwood where she loved hosting afternoon tea. She always made herself available as a chauffeur to other residents of the building who needed a lift and also volunteered her time at Northlea Public School in the craft program. She rejoined the Ministry with Children Committee at Timothy Eaton and volunteered to host all the meetings and provide refreshments.

She broke her hip in 2009 and rebounded remarkable well. This was only one of her impressive recoveries. In her teenage years she had scarlet fever and was told that she would be in a wheelchair by 30; she was walking till 91. She survived lung cancer in the early 1960s and again in 1983. She beat thyroid cancer in the 1970s and had several heart attacks, all of which she brushed off with grace. This was a remarkable display of her determination and spirit.

No job was too big, whether it was making her daughter's wedding dress or hosting a party for more than 100 people, but she always had time for a cup of tea with a friend. Please join us after the interment for an Afternoon Tea in her memory at her daughter Nancy's house at 87 Falcon Street.

A Life Well Lived

Eileen married Doctor Joseph Clarence Hill, son of Doctor Clarence Edgar Hill and Margaret Harris, on 29 Dec 1954. (Doctor Joseph Clarence Hill was born on 18 Feb 1914 in Toronto, Ontario and died in Apr 1996.)