Venita Hill

Venita Lorraine (Orton) Hill passed away at age 85 from complications of Dementia/Alzheimer’s on Thursday, June 29th, 2023, at the Hammond Health Center.  She was born the 11th of 12 children in Revillo, South Dakota on Friday, August 13th, 1937 to Andrew and Veta (Rogers) Orton.

Venita will be remembered for her sense of humor and love for travel and adventure.  It is hard to forget someone who gave you so much to remember, and Venita created a lot of memories in her 85 years of life including bus trips with friends, zip lining across the Chattahoochee River with son Joe and brother Alfred at 80 years young, and a couple of wild and crazy trips more recently with her daughters and granddaughters.  Many laughs have been and will forever continue to be shared about those trips!

When Venita was three years old, her mother, Veta, passed away and upon her passing, Venita’s father Andrew moved to San Diego, California where his mother, Hannah, helped him to care for the children.  There, Venita’s father would meet and marry Rose (Gustafson) Orton.  Later, the six youngest children moved to Webster, WI with their father and stepmother.  Venita graduated from Webster High School in 1955.  She met James Hill and they were married in Pine City, MN on December 31st, 1956 and would later move to the Glenwood City/Emerald area where they owned and operated three different farms over the years.  They welcomed five children; Marvel, Renee, Jeffrey (Jeff), Joseph (Joe), and Rita.  Later, that union would dissolve.  Venita also worked at FabriTek/CTS in Baldwin, WI for 29 years.  After retirement, she moved to Siren, WI to be closer to her sisters.  Venita lost her loving partner of 18 years, John Goossens, on June 26th, 1999.  They enjoyed playing cards with Venita’s brothers and sisters.  Later she would meet special friend Don Turner and they enjoyed going dancing.  They were together for 10 lovely years until Don passed away on July 12th, 2015.

Venita is survived by her brother Alfred Orton of Seale, AL, sister Clara Palomaki of Grantsburg, WI, and sister-in-law Irene Orton of Lindstrom, MN, four children:  Marvel (Dave) Ruis of Pine City, MN, Renee (Carl) Williamson of Milltown WI, Joe Hill of Frederic, WI, and Rita (Kevin Broten) Kahler of New Richmond, WI.  She is further survived by nine grandchildren: Michelle/Missi (Russell) Obermueller of New Richmond, WI, Rachel (Dave) Heinbuch of Baldwin, WI, Charlie Potting (Chuck Jr.) of Milltown, WI, Joey (Joseph Hill Jr.) of Frederic, WI, Bridget (Tony) Hellendrung of Boyceville, WI, Renita (Mike) Christner of Spooner, WI, Heather (Tim) Adams of Luck, WI, Amy (Matt) Kahler of New Richmond, WI, and Taylor Hill of Luck, WI,  4 step grandchildren: Dominic (Brendean) Ruis of Andover, MN, Becky (Jared) Acheson of Urbandale, IA, Amy (Mark) Hoffman of Centuria, WI, and Janice (Scott Schmid) Williamson of Centuria, WI, 15 great grandchildren: Summer, Jazmin, Ericka, Matthew, Hunter, Hailey, Hailie, Divinity,  Gabe (Charles Jr.), Zach, Zoey, Devin, Elliot, Mila, and Renesmay, eight step great grandchildren: Ashlee, Olivia, Logan, Jacob, Brooklyn, Bryce, Cael, Finn, and another on the way, and one great great grandson Jasper, very special niece Cindy (Fuzzell) Tarver of Chicago, IL, niece Jill Larson, and many other family and friends.

Venita is preceded in death by parents Andrew and Veta, stepmother Rose, brothers Ernest, Everett, Lauren, and Robert, sisters Doris and Lorraine as infants, sisters Mary, Nina, and Velores, special life partners John and Don, son Jeff, and grandson Aaron.

The family would like to extend their sincere thanks to the staff at Hammond Health Center and St. Croix hospice who took such gentle and thoughtful care of our loved one. Healthcare workers are truly angels on earth and we appreciate all that you did for our family and what you selflessly continue to do for others.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, August 13, 2023 from 1-4pm (Venita’s 86th birthday) at the Senior Community Center in Siren, WI; 23943 WI-35, Siren, WI 54872.  Light refreshments will be served.  Venita will be laid to rest with her sons at Mount Hope Cemetery in Turtle Lake, WI at a later date.