Joseph Hill

Service for Joseph McCright “Mac” Hill, 87, of Cleburne will be conducted at 10:00 A.M., Tuesday, May 8, 2018 in the First United Methodist Church of Cleburne. Dr. Robert Herzig will officiate, assisted by Reverend Mike Gafford. Interment will be at 2:00 P.M., Tuesday, in the DFW National Cemetery in Dallas. Honorary Pallbearers will be Mac’s seven grandchildren. Visitation will be from 5-7:00 P.M., Monday, at the funeral home.

Joseph McCright “Mac” Hill passed away Thursday, May 3, 2018 in Cleburne. He was born November 10, 1930 in Snyder to Leslie Augustus and Lula Elizabeth McCright Hill. He married Ruth Ann Benton on September 28, 1958 in Lubbock.

Mac was the second of five children. He would recount how his mother Bessie Lou schooled him at home so that he was able to enter the third grade at age 6. Growing up on a farm in West Texas was not easy but certainly made for developing close family ties and strong work ethic.

Mac graduated from Snyder High School in 1946. He received his BBA in accounting from Texas Texas University in 1953 and joined the US Navy, where he served honorably as a Supply Corps Officer during the Korean War, attaining the rank of lieutenant upon his discharge. Following his military service, he returned to graduate school, and in 1958 he received his MBA in accounting from Texas Tech.

Mac met his wife while on a trip with a friend to Dallas before his military service while Ruth Ann was attending Southern Methodist University. Mac and Ruth Ann became reacquainted while he was in graduate school at Texas Tech and Ruth was teaching school. Upon receiving his M.B.A in Accounting, he and Ruth Ann married in September 1958 in Lubbock and moved to Dallas. He began his public accounting career as a C.P.A. at Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. (now KPMG) in both tax and auditing in Dallas while living in Irving. In 1962, Mac and Ruth Ann moved with with their young daughter Elizabeth (and soon after welcomed their son, Joey) to Cleburne where Mac had accepted a position as Assistant Treasurer with Rangaire Corporation, a manufacturer of range hoods, freezers, lighting fixtures, cooking equipment, lime and limestone, headquartered in Cleburne. Mac held various executive roles while at Rangaire, retiring in 1989 as President and Director.

Mac relished his time in service to business organizations. In the late 1970’s, Mac was a director of Cleburne Savings. During the Carter Administration, Mac served as a member of small business panels that advised the President’s domestic policy group. One of his most enjoyable experiences was serving as a governor-at-large of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and on the NASD’s Corporate Advisory Council from 1979 to 1984. Following that service he was a member of the Listing and Hearing Review Council of the NASDAQ. Mac also served as a member of the AICPA, the Texas Tech Accounting Advisory Council and the Business Advisory Council at the University of Texas at Arlington. He was recognized as a “Distinguished Accounting Alumni” from Texas Tech University in 1982.

Following his retirement, Mac remained active in Cleburne. He was chairman of the Tax Appraisal Review Board for Johnson County Central Appraisal District. He also was chairman for both of the Gubernatorial Campaigns of George Bush. In 2000 he was the county chairman for Bush’s presidential campaign. From 2006-2012, Mac took pleasure in a small cattle ranch that he named “Post Oak Acres."

In addition to his interest in politics, Mac was an avid genealogist. He and Ruth Ann traveled avidly in search of genealogical information for both his family and Ruth Ann’s: throughout the state, to the National Archives in Washington D.C., to various states in the South and Midwest and two trips to Northern Ireland. Mac and Ruth Ann were members of First Methodist Church since the mid-1960’s.

His greatest joy came from spending time with his family, wife, children and grandchildren; brothers and sister; nieces and nephews and cousins. He loved them all so dearly and took great pleasure in talking with them and receiving the latest news. For those of us lucky enough, he also loved retelling stories of his time in the Navy, his business exploits and his growing up on the farm in Snyder.

Mac is survived by his beloved wife of 59 years, Ruth Ann Hill of Cleburne; children, Elizabeth Hill Gunter and husband Gary of Austin and Joey Hill and wife Lisa of Glen Rose; seven grandchildren, Sara, Erik, Turner, Kelly, Grace, Grayson, and Johanna; one sister, Nancy Fehleison of Lubbock; two brothers, Paul Hill and wife Barbara of Georgetown and Rob Hill of Fort Worth; numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, L.A. Hill, Jr.

Memorials may be made to: First United Methodist Church, 1300 West Westhill Dr., Cleburne, TX 76033, Children's Advocacy Center, 910 N. Granbury St., Cleburne, TX 76033, or the charity of your choice.