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Dr Hoyle D Hill, Jr

Washington, D.C., USA

January 18, 1942 - December 22, 2020

Jan 18, 1942 - Dec 22, 2020

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Dr. Hoyle D. Hill, Jr.
January 18, 1942 – December 22, 2020

Dr. Hoyle Durward Hill, Jr., 78, passed away December 22nd, 2020, in Washington, D.C., from natural causes. A native of Charlotte, NC, and the oldest child of the late Hoyle D Hill, Sr. and Georgia R Hill. He grew up in the suburbs of Charlotte with his younger sister, Candace, graduating from Myers Park High School, class of 1959. His academic journey began at nearby Pfeiffer College (now Pfeiffer University), attending one year, 1959-1960. He transferred to UNC at Chapel Hill in 1960 for further undergraduate and graduate study in chemistry. Hoyle met his wife of 25 years, Carolen Rockhill Dollison, through his sister, Candace, who was attending UNC Woman’s College along with Carolen at the time. Hoyle and Carolen were married in 1960, made their first home in Carrboro, NC, and had three children, Jean (1965), Currey (1969), and Rich (1974).
He earned his Bachelors in Chemistry from UNC in 1964 and stayed on at UNC, working in their labs. In July 1966, he published for the first time in his career, along with colleagues Carl W. Seater and George K. Summer, in the journal Analytical Biochemistry, Volume 16, Issue 1. They had developed a simple, accurate, quantitative method for determining the concentration of xanthurenic acid, kynurenic acid, and kynurenine in urine. Hoyle went on to earn his Master of Science degree in Chemistry from UNC at Chapel Hill in 1971. After earning his Doctorate in Biochemistry from Duke University in 1975, he moved out of academia and into the corporate world to contribute to the 20th-century global development of pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution.
In 1976, he took his first corporate job with Abbott Laboratories’ Diagnostics Division in North Chicago, IL. He and Carolen moved their family nearby to Lindenhurst, where they lived for the next six years (1982). While there, Hoyle was instrumental in completing research for the first test to screen blood for exposure to HIV, developed by Abbott and later approved by the FDA in 1985. He also helped develop the fastest test available at that time for screening for Streptococcus B.
In 1982, Hoyle was offered a position at Becton Dickinson in Baltimore, MD, and jumped at the chance to lead. Hoyle was proud of their home on the Chesapeake Bay in Pasadena, MD, where he and Carolen lived with their kids until 1989. Hoyle continued his career with other biomedical corporations – Becton Dickinson, Tecan Group, Ltd, and later Sigma-Aldrich in St. Louis. He established the American headquarters for Tecan Group, Ltd, a Swiss company, in Hillsborough, NC, where Tecan became a nationwide supplier of laboratory instruments and solutions in biopharmaceuticals, forensics, and clinical diagnosis.
During his life, Hoyle was married three times, to Carolen Rockhill Dollison in 1960, Pamela Shanker, of St Louis, MO, in 1991, and Sedigheh M Mohamad Zadeh of Anne Arbor, Mi, in 1997. He loved and gave them his all.
Born with a curious and brilliant mind, Hoyle delighted in travel, cuisine, exotic cars, and new experiences. Above most, he loved his dogs. Hoyle was social, charming, and generous with his knowledge and time. In his retirement, Hoyle delighted in helping young company leaders develop foresight and advantageous decision-making capabilities. He wasn’t always working, however. Hoyle and Jean attempted to restore a vintage VW bug. He taught Currey how to clean a fish with (almost) a surgeon’s touch, and he would encourage Rich’s artistic talent by teaching him how to use a variety of tools. Hoyle was also generous with Pam and Fe’s children during his time with them, teaching them how to set up savings accounts and taking them on special trips. Oh, and he cut off the tips of his fingers in a snowblower during the Blizzard of 1979.
His three children survive Hoyle, Jean Russell Link, married to Robert Link, Jr. of Washington, D.C., Candace Currey Fountain, married to Kenneth Fountain, of Orange, Va., and Richard Dollison Hill, married to Kristen Harrell Hill of Neptune Beach, Fla. His six grandchildren and a great-grandson also survive Hoyle, Seri Anderson, married to Samuel Anderson of Carrboro, NC; Sam Link, married to Lydia Meyer of Chicago, IL; Sophi Link, married to Matthew Holbrook of Washington, DC; Sebastian, Lucy, and Mckinley Hay of Orange, VA.; and, b. 2018 to Seri and Sam, Arthur Anderson. Hoyle’s cousin and only sister survive him as well, Nancy Howie, Charlotte, NC, and Candace Hill Owens, married to Joseph Mengel, of Chapel Hill, N.C.

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