human Mary Crockett Hill died in the early morning on September 23, 2023. Born in the summer of 1969, Mary had struggled valiantly with health challenges since receiving a stage 4 colon cancer diagnosis last December. 

 

Mary’s bravery, humility, and singular wit were matched only by her boundless capacity for love. These were the qualities that sustained Mary throughout the entirety of her life. The ones that made her such a dutiful friend, valuable educator, unsurpassed sister, daughter, wife, and—most importantly—mother. These too were the qualities that made the hard days of Mary’s illness bearable for her family. 

 

Mary loved life with a voracious, inquisitive tenacity capable of inspiring those around her. She delighted in both the exquisite and the ordinary with an adaptability that informed both the tenor of her life and her writing. 

 

Throughout her life, Mary channeled her gifts broadly. She was a museum director, toilet-seat hand model, freelance writer, literary magazine editor, fundraising spy, physics award winner, Easter Seals grant writer, and most recently, Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Roanoke College. 

 

In each of these capacities Mary’s directness, intelligence, unassuming good sense, and kindness cut to the heart of the matter at hand, enriching the workplaces and projects to which she lent her talents. Her multi-faceted abilities also defined her creative life as she wrote across genres: not only in her first love: poetry, but in children’s and young adult literature, verse memoir, and local history.

 

It is impossible to wholly map the complex, radiant contours of Mary’s soul. How can one person be both so tender and so fierce? So funny and so earnest? Mary defied categories. She embodied all these qualities and so, so many more.

 

From her first breath to her last, Mary was a miracle. Her strength of spirit, let alone her strength of character, were forces to be reckoned with. 

 

Mary knew how to live in the present, with peace, dignity, and grace. No one could out-spunk her. Who else would be giving high-fives on their deathbed? Mary will be sorely missed, but even more joyously loved.