Longtime Society Hill Rural Fire Chief Leslie Leroy “Roy” Hill was ferried to rest Monday in the town’s restored 1956 Ford F-600 fire truck.
Hill’s funeral was at historic Welsh Neck Baptist Church. He was interred in the church cemetery.
Hill, 66, died Friday after an extended illness. Hill was fire chief for 20 years. He succeeded his father as chief.
Eric Sloan is pastor of Welsh Neck Baptist Church. He knew Hill well.
“I visited Mr. Roy many times in the hospital,” Sloan said. “He told me he was on good speaking terms with God.”
Rick Hartsoe, pastor of Society Hill Church of God, said he prayed with Hill on several occasions.
“Mr. Roy grew up in a time when your word was your bond, a handshake was more powerful than a contract and neighbors helped each other,” Hartsoe said. “Society Hill has lost its native son.”
Rusty Chapman said “Mr. Roy was a good, kind man who loved his family and people. Mr. Roy has left us, but he’s waiting on us in heaven.”
Bill Byers, pastor of Society Hill Presbyterian Church, said he hadn’t known Hill for that long, but took delight in talking to him.
“Mr. Roy enjoyed just about every day he lived,” Byers said. “Every time he saw me he would say, ‘Here comes that Alabama fan.’
“Mr. Roy said he was worried about me because of my weight. He said if I would come to his boot camp, I could watch the weight melt away. Mr. Roy was a friend to all.”
Meanwhile, the truck was the first vehicle for the Society Hill Fire Department. The department was organized May 10, 1956, “to provide fire protection to the residents and property owners of Society Hill and adjacent areas.”
The first fire chief was R.D. King Jr. The assistant chief was Percy Auman, while Edwin L. Sumner was secretary/treasurer.
The arrival of the 1956 fire truck was a cause for celebration.
“One day the people of Society Hill heard a siren blowing,” Hill wrote before he died. “Everyone knew that there was no siren in town, so everyone within hearing distance went running out to the street to see what was going on. About that time the truck turned around and came back through town with the siren blowing and the lights flashing.”
Hill also recalled an incident when his father sent him to start the fire trucks (the department had more than one by this time) and let them run for about an hour.
“This was a big deal for a young boy,” Hill wrote. “No problem cranking the trucks, so I went on to something else while the truck ran for awhile.
“For some reason I failed to turn the trucks off. Boy, was my daddy mad when I came home from school. The trucks had run about 24 hours unattended and I was in the dog house.”
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