Ralph Hill always had fun – riding a calliope, being a clown or going to the circus.
Hill, 83, died Sept. 13 at his Denver home, just seven weeks after the death of his wife, Marjorie.
He was her caretaker for years because she had macular degeneration. Hill did the cooking for the family as well as groups she entertained.
For everyone, the favorite was his “decadent chocolate cake,” said his daughter, Debby Fowler of Colorado Springs.
Hill found a battered calliope in an alley in Morrison in the 1960s and restored it – painting it red, yellow and green.
He mounted the instrument, which looked like a stagecoach, pulled by draft horses. A friend played the organ inside the calliope.
“It was huge, as big as a car and 10 feet tall,” said his son, Brad Hill, of Greenwood Village.
Ralph Hill often took the calliope to Shriners and El Jebel parades in Colorado and other states, and to Denver’s Parade of Lights
In Shriners parades he was often a clown, dressed in blue pants, huge shoes and a red wig. “He was outgoing, lively, a real character,” his son said.
Hill was good at mixing fun and learning, about which he was adamant. He made games out of teaching his kids about geography and history.
Before taking grandchildren to places like Disneyland, he’d reward them with money for answering geography and history questions correctly.
In the Hill kitchen was a list of the conjugation of French verbs. While he didn’t speak French, he was determined his children would learn it.
Hill also insisted they learn to type, said his daughter.
Hill’s usual way of reacting to good news was to raise his arms straight up and say “Whoopee,” said his daughter. “He always had a good time.”
Ralph Hill was born in the front room of the family-owned Commercial Hotel in Eaton. They moved to Denver when he was an infant. He graduated from South High School and played the drums and marimba in the band.
College at the University of Colorado in Boulder was interrupted by World War II and again when his father died.
Hill ultimately earned his degree and then managed the family business, Douglas Hill Insurance Agency.
He met Marjorie Morse at CU and they married on March 27, 1948.
In addition to his son and daughter, he is survived by another son, David Hill, of San Francisco; nine grandchildren; and two sisters, Cecelia Cubbins of Denver and Pat Lloyd of Warrington, Pa.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at vculver@denverpost.com or 303-954-1223.
