Obituary: Pamela Ann Gemery-Hill

Pamela Ann Gemery-Hill

GOLDEN, Colo. – Pamela Ann Gemery-Hill, beloved daughter of Henry A. and Pamela M. Gemery, passed away on Jan. 25, 2024, after a year-long battle with bile duct cancer.

Born in 1966 in Waterville, her early education began at Colby College, its Nursery School, that is. Joining her father on a commute from Sidney, Pam added to a small peer group of faculty children who met in the basement of Lorimer Chapel. Following on, she graduated from Sidney’s James H. Bean School with, unusually, a fourth-grade detour to attend a Council School in Hampstead, England. Struggling to understand her teacher’s Northern English accent, she was less enthusiastic than the rest of the family about the value of study abroad. Further education continued at Waterville Senior High School with graduation in 1984.

A running enthusiast, Pam ran track for four years and cross country for three years and co-captained the Women’s Track Team in her Junior and Senior years at Waterville Senior High School. From high school, she continued on to Smith College where she completed a B.S. degree cum laude in Geology in 1988. Pam pioneered her own study ‘abroad’ program at Smith when, mindful of her fourth-grade English experience, she opted for ‘abroad’ at the University of Hawaii to study volcanology.

Her running career continued throughout college. A strong quarter-miler, she and three teammates set a Smith College record in the 4×800 meter relay that stood for 37 years. After Smith, Pam went on to earn a M.S. degree in Geology at the University of Colorado which was the springboard for her career in the earth sciences. Her running remained an important part of her life throughout, and she ran until the day she had a port installed to deliver the chemo to fight her cancer.

Pam was a devoted and active mother of two wonderful boys, Alex (18) and Andrew (16). They were her focus and inspiration throughout, and a source of immense pride and joy. She regularly attended their extracurricular activities and events until the very end and maintained her wit and sense of humor.

Pam is survived by her parents Henry and Pamela Gemery of Sidney; husband, Ron Hill and their two boys, Alex and Andrew, of Golden, Colo.; brother, John Gemery and his family of Norwich, Vt.; and cousin, John Malcolm and his family of Basking Ridge, N.J.

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