Heath "Dane" Hill III

Heath Haldane Hill, III, (Dane) AKA "Bubba", "Dane Dane", "Danie","Buzz", "da Dane da Dane" and "Danie Boy"

Our precious boy Dane lived a short life full of challenges and surprises, but also full of and surrounded by love. His maternal grandmother, Sandra Joyce Johnson, a beloved pastor's wife, died of cancer at the tender age of 32, but left behind 2 small girls, April 6 and Ashley, 2. Danie never knew Grandmother Sandra in life but she visited him from Heaven often. Dane was named after his paternal grandfather who also preceded him in death-The original Heath Haldane Hill, who was a Vietnam Veteran in the Army Special Forces, a 1st Lieutenant in the Green Berets 5th Special Forces Group, and later Editorial Page Editor of the Winston-Salem Journal from 1974 until his death in 1984 at the age of 40. Like his namesake in war, Dane endured many hardships. He may not have crawled through jungles or eaten snakes, but he endured multiple surgeries and lingering pains.

He was 1 of only 3 children in the world born with his chromosomal abnormality, and having

survived so much in his eight years, we don't fully understand why God had to take him now.

In life Danie saw angels above him often, and it was obvious they were there to bring him joy and laughter. We know people do not turn into angels but this tiny boy was so close to angels all his life that it was only fitting that he would be our little angel on Earth, strong and pure and joyful. How will we ever live without him? His parents, Heath Haldane Hill II and Ashley Johnson Hill, have been beside themselves with worry, then fear, and then absolute agony over the loss of their only son.

They say their love for their daughters and love of God will carry them through the misery and back to living as Dane would have them. The many who loved him could not all be named because he touched so many- but closest to him, those who loved him deeply, guarded & cared for him, were his parents, Heath and Ashley Hill, his sisters, Avery Gail Johnson & Ashlyn Rae Hill, his grandparents, Stephen & Karen Johnson, Linda Hill & Ralph A "Sandy" Poindexter, Jr., his aunts & uncles, April (Bill) Parker, Rosemary (David) Cox, Juliet C. Hennessy (Mark) , Dean R Castor, Jr (Tandi), William H Regnery, II, (Shayne) David WF Regnery (Leigh Anne) LP Hill, II (Alyson), a litany of cousins whose love & support is beyond priceless - we love & thank you!

Services for our little boy will be held at Huff Funeral Home, 212 E Main Street, East Bend, NC 27018, Sunday at 2:00 pm. A reception will follow at Stony Knoll, UMC Fellowship Hall after the burial.

We'd appreciate happy flowers & mostly balloons (Balloons and clothes were Dane's favorites), donations to the special needs classroom of Boonville Elementary School c/o Dane's beloved teachers (Amy Mathis and Candi and all the rest who know who they are!) Hemby (Presbyterian) Children's Hospital, Charlotte, NC and any place your heart leads you. God bless you all.

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