HILL, Polly B.

Formerly of Marblehead, MA and Westwood, MA, loving wife of the late Richard D. “Dick” Hill, passed away peacefully, on January 4, 2023, at her home at RiverMead in Peterborough, NH, at the age of 98. Polly was born in Brockton, MA, in 1924 to the late Rev. Axel Bergstedt and Walborg Emily Pearson Bergstedt, who were both born in Sweden. Her mother died when she was eighteen months old, and she was raised by her father and her mother’s best friend, Alda Johanna Nelson.

She was musically gifted from a young age and accompanied the church choir, choruses, and musical productions. After graduating from Brockton High School in 1942, she attended North Park University in Chicago and left after a year to support the Allied efforts in World War II.

She worked at the Harvard University Underwater Sound Laboratory which did secret research on torpedoes and mines. After the war, she was an executive secretary at the First National Bank of Boston, where she met her future husband, a rising young loan officer who was immediately attracted to this charismatic blond beauty. He proposed by the Swan Boats in the Boston Public Garden, and they married in 1947. They lived in Marblehead for over fifty years where they raised their three children. They enjoyed sailing the coastal waters of New England and skiing in New Hampshire.

Polly was a den mother, Girl Scout leader, room mother, and PTO chair. She volunteered at the Salem Hospital and was a member of the Marblehead Garden Club. She began to volunteer extensively with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and was named an Overseer Emerita. Dick eventually was named president and CEO of the First National Bank of Boston, and they began to travel all over the world visiting the bank’s international branches and clients. They made a glamorous couple, charming everyone wherever they went.

Polly was always proud of her Swedish heritage and served on the board of the Swedish Council of America. She was also a member of the Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead and the Chilton Club in Boston. They spent a good part of their retirement in Warwick, Bermuda. In 2002, they moved to Fox Hill Village in Westwood, MA and enjoyed a very active life in that vibrant community.

She is survived by her three children and their spouses Steven D. and Catherine Hill of Okatie, SC, Johanna Hill Simpson and Richard C. Simpson, Jr. of Hancock, NH, and Richard D. Hill, Jr. and Susan Hill of Wellesley,

MA. She is also survived by eight grandsons; six granddaughters-in-law; and seven great-grandchildren. Her family wishes to thank Ozella Norris and Nadine Bernadel for their loving care over the years, and the Assisted Living staff at RiverMead for their compassionate care during the past year.

The world needs more Polly Hills. Her smile, kindness, elegance, and genuine way of making others feel welcome and special are unforgettable. Her beauty shone through all her years because it was soulful and based in love.

There will be a Celebration of her Life this May in Marblehead. Donations may be made in her honor to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, 301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, or www.bso.org