Ernestine Walker was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, the fourth daughter of five children, to Canzadie and Wilson Walker. She attended the Cohoma County A&M High School and Junior College where she met and befriended her soon-to-be husband, Willie Patrick Hill whom she married in April 1942 after the family moved to St Louis. They remained devoted in marriage for more than sixty years until his passing January 18, 2003. Their union was blessed with six children, five grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Hill and her family affiliated with Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church where she remained a member of the congregation over 50 years until passing. She sang in the choir, served on the Nurses Board, and in many other organizations, including her beloved Mother’s Board, until illness prevented her service.
A devoted civic and community leader, Ernestine began her work in St. Louis as a community organizer in the 1950’s, when she lived in the Pruitt-Igoe Housing Project. There, she organized voter registration drives and other community projects to better the lives of her family and the lives of her neighbors. After the family moved further west, Ernestine again became active in politics, joined the 18th Ward, and worked tirelessly to assist with voter registration and encourage political awareness and community involvement.
Ernestine was elected Committee Woman for the 18th Ward in 1978 and served the residents of St. Louis in that capacity, with the assistance of her husband and family until 2008. She was especially interested in voter transportation, Election Day voter turnout, and children’s educational projects. The Annual Christmas parties Ernestine began for the children in the 18th Ward became one of her most cherished activities. It is a tradition that continues today and has been named the Ernestine Walker Hill 18th Ward Annual Children’s Christmas Celebration in her honor. She served as Chair of the First Congressional District of the Missouri Federation of Democratic Women and was active in the St. Louis City Democratic Central Committee. Some of her most memorable awards include the “Yes I Can Award” from the St. Louis Metro Sentinel, the “Lewis Place Historical Preservation Award” in 2009, the “Young Democrats Award” for Years of Dedicated Leadership in Government, the “Pearl Schwartz White Humanities Award” in 1984, the “Mother of the Year Award”, the “Top Ladies of Distinction Award” Cardinal Chapter, and the “Lifetime Achievement Award” earned in 2002 from the Local 410 St. Louis Teachers School-Related Personnel Union in Recognition of Exceptional Leadership and Dedication in Support of Public Education.
Ernestine departed this life on April 14, 2012, following a long illness and was preceded in death by her beloved husband, of 60 years and her second-born daughter, Joyce McGhee Porter, on May 3, 2008. She will be missed and mourned by her remaining children, Barbara Hill Moore, Willie P. Hill, Jr., Maria Canzadie Hill, Derrick Walker Hill, and Karl Benjamin Hill, her son-in-law, LeAndrew Moore, daughter- in-law, Janelle Hill, grandchildren, Leah M. Moore and husband Gary Bennett, Tara Stephens, Derrick W. Hill, Jr., Karl B. Hill, Jr., Meagan Artis, and Sade Chambers, great grandchildren, Liam P. Stephens, Derrick Hill III, De Andre’ Marcel Williams II, and Corinne Alexandra Moore Bennett, a host of family and friends, and the Pleasant Green M.B. Church Family.
