William Chester Hill, 91, died peacefully on Thursday, 10 May 2018, following a long and wonderful life. Born in Worcester, MA, on 9 August 1926, to Chester and Eleanor (Cloutman) Hill, Bill moved to Dover, NH at the age of five. In 1944, Bill enlisted in the U.S. Navy and immediately headed straight for the South Pacific, where he proudly served aboard the destroyer escort USS Gilmore (DE-18). In the years following the end of WWII, Bill continued to serve his country as a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve, stationed aboard the destroyer escort USS Tills (DE-748) in South Portland, ME. He was twice recalled to active duty – first in 1961 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and again in 1963 when he escorted the minesweeper USS Reedbird (AMS-51) from Long Beach, CA to the U.S. Naval Reserve Training Center located in Portsmouth, NH. Bill retired from the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1986, following 40 years of service. In 1946, Bill married his childhood sweetheart, Zelva Pearl Brown. After nearly 56 years of marriage, Zelva died suddenly in May 2002. Bill soon found love again. In 2004, he married Jean Louise Dow Dotton, who remained his best friend and constant companion until the very end. In 1947, Bill joined the Moses Paul Lodge (Lodge #96) of the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire, Free and Accepted Masons, where he served as a loyal member for over 70 years. Bill was a life-long member of Christie-Drouin Post 752 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), from the founding of the post in 1950 to its dissolution in 2006. During his long years of faithful service, Bill served in various roles, including Post Commander and Post Quartermaster. Bill started work as a machinist at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in January 1954. During his final years at the Naval Shipyard, Bill served as a Nuclear Safety Instructor. He retired in 1984, following 30 years of service. An avid outdoorsman, Bill was a life time member of the Major Waldron Sportsmen’s Association in Barrington, NH, where he served as a firearms safety instructor for many years. Bill was an active member of the First Parish Congregational Church in Dover, NH for over 50 years. In addition to his cherished wife Jean, Bill leaves behind four daughters: Gretchen and husband Pat Ward of San Antonio, TX; Katrina Hill Lozier of Newburyport, MA; Juliana and husband Richard Eck of Milton, NH; and Wilhelmina Hill of Dover, NH. He also leaves his beloved granddaughter Ashley and husband Todd Wheeler of Montpelier, VT. Members of Bill’s extended family include: Sarah Dotton and husband Adam Buehne of New Durham, NH; Emily Dotton, husband Daniel Chapin, and son Augustus Chapin of Somersworth, NH; Duane Dotton of Dover, NH; and numerous nieces and nephews. Bill was preceded in death by his only brother, John Richard (Dickie) Hill in 2006. Family flowers only, please; Graveside interment will be held at the Pine Hill Cemetery in Dover, NH on Friday, May 18, at 11am; under the direction of Wiggin-Purdy-McCooey-Dion Funeral Home in Dover. Anyone interested in attending the graveside service should conviegn at the Court St Gate #1 entrance to the cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the First Parish Congregational Church, UCC, in Dover, NH. To sign our online guestbook, please go to www.purdyfuneralservice.com