Maria Karolina Hill Campbell

Maria Karolina Hill Campbell, age 97, passed away on Thursday, October 14, 2021, surrounded by her loving family. She was born to the late Christian and Katherine Stoll Horcher in Marksteft, Germany, on April 26, 1924. Enduring many hardships, abuse and starvation growing up during WWI and WWII under the Nazi Regime, she rose to overcome those oppressions by taking care of her family to the best of her ability and later taking care of German citizens in a convalescent facility. She met the love of her life, John Hill, in the small town of Marktbreit, Germany, during the Allied Occupation. They were married by the Burgermeister of Segnitz, a small town across the Meine River.

Maria moved to the US with her new husband and proudly accomplished her pledge as a US Citizen. She and John raised 5 children during his missions in France, Japan and the Ft. Knox area. Maria was loved for her ability to sew, keeping things clean and watching over working families with children. It was the latter that her relationship with Bobby and Angela Wardrop’s family led to their children (Deanna, Cindy and Darryl) to call her “Mommy Hill” to this day. After her husband John died in 1970, Maria concentrated on taking care of her family until they had married and/or careers and families of their own. In 1981 she married Ray Campbell who was already known and a part of the family. After Ray’s passing in 1998, Maria endured cancer treatment and won, overcame a hip replacement and even a fractured femur. As much as she was loving, Maria was a force to be admired and revered. Though time ravages even the most defiant of their dignity, Maria kept the smile and twinkling blue eyes that would light up a room and warm your heart.

In addition to her parents and two husbands, Maria is also preceded in death by her son, Adam; her sisters, Resi Bucks (and her husband Herman) and Gretel Schneidawind; sons-in-law, Cosmo Purpura, Jimmy Warren and Kenny Cundiff; a grandson, Tony Farris; and two great-grandchildren, Sidnea Jantzen, and Samuel Brown.

Maria is survived by her loving children, Karen Purpura, Christine Warren, Wanda Calisi (Sam), Carol Cundiff and Jim Hill (Tony); 7 grandchildren, Theresa, Freddy, Donna, Cindy (Steve), Jon (Angela), Kristie and Timothy; 10 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild; nephews, Horst Bucks (Elfriede), Jurgen Bucks and Heinz Schneidawind; niece, Christa Ferrand; cousin, Edith Reyes (Ray); many other family members; and so many wonderful friends and extended family.

A gathering to celebrate this wonderful contribution to the world will be 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 23, 2021, at Chism Family Funeral Home, 769 Highland Ave, Vine Grove, KY 40175. The family will gather for burial at 2:00 p.m. EST at Dry Valley Cemetery, where Maria will be buried next to her beloved John.

The family would like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Honaker, Dr. Badiwala and the nursing staff at Baptist Health Elizabethtown for their extraordinary kindness and their dignified, magnificent care for our Mother.

Memorial gifts may be made to Hosparus Health of Central Kentucky.

Newcomer - E. Louisville Chapel (502-245-0095) is handling the arrangements

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