Former Olney Man Shoots Himself

A 26-year-old former Olney resident, now of Roseburg, Oregon, shot himself to death Friday after telling his wife he was going to do so several times, Oregon officials reported Sunday.

John H. Hill received a shotgun wound to the stomach about 3:30 p.m. Friday, Douglas County, Oregon sheriff’s officials said. He died at Mercy Hospital in Roseburg about three hours later.

A sheriff’s spokesman said that Hill and his wife, Elaine were at the Pine Motel in Roseburg when the shooting occurred.

Authorities said that Hill had been discharging the shotgun for almost a half hour before shooting himself. Hill would reportedly say he was going to kill himself each time before he pulled the trigger, causing his wife to run in from another room when the shot resounded.

She last ran into the room when she heard him scream out in pain, the sheriff’s office said. Sheriff’s deputies had first received a report that Hill was shooting off the gun about 3:09 p.m. Friday, but apparently were unable to talk to him.

The Decatur Herald (Decatur, IL) – Monday, March 21, 1977

John Howard Hill, age 26, a former resident of Olney and for the past few months a resident of Oregon, passed away Friday March 18, 1977 in Roseburg, Oregon.

Funeral services at Summers Funeral Home with Dr. W.A. Robinson officiating. Interment in Memorial Garden section of Haven Hill Cemetery.

John was born at Indianapolis, Ind. the son of Charles Hill and Kathleen Smith Hill. He was married to Elaine Williams at Farmington, New Mexico in May of 1976. He had been a veteran of the Vietnam Conflict and had been employed in the Forestry Service in Oregon. He was a member of the Methodist Church.

He leaves his wife Elaine; a daughter, Jacquiline Rose Hill; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hill of Olney; and a grandmother Hope Smith of Bridgeport.

Published in Olney Daily Mail (IL)