Mary Lavinia Allanson
Mary attended college at the University of Illinois on a full tuition scholarship, having competed for this honor with scholars from the entire state of Illinois. She matriculated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. She subsequently attended graduate school at Columbia University in New York, from which she received a Master's degree in Psychology. She had been accepted to several prestigious Ph. D. programs and teaching positions (College of William and Mary, University of California at Berkeley, Columbia University, Barnard College, Wellesley College, etc.) at the outbreak of World War II, which put an end to her doctoral plans. It was while serving the military in the development of bomber pilot profile tests that she met her future husband, Lawrence Hill. They had five children together, one of whom died in infancy. Lawrence and Mary lived the majority of their lives in the fine small community of Verona, New Jersey, located 15 miles west of New York City. During this time Lawrence was employed as a Plant Manager and Business Administrator for the Self-Winding Clock Company in New York City. The company later became known as the Winston Network and held franchises for transit advertising in 33 cities. A few years after Mary's death in 1982, Lawrence retired from his daily bus commute to New York from Verona, New Jersey. Soon thereafter, he returned to Alabama, where he took up residence at his father's soybean and cotton farm outside of New Hope, Alabama.
Mary married Lawrence Hill, son of Robert Rufus Hill and Mary Ann Lawrence, on 9 Dec 1942 in Southern Pines, Moore County, North Carolina, USA. (Lawrence Hill was born on 20 Aug 1914, died on 13 Apr 1994 in New Hope, Madison County, Alabama, USA and was buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Oak Grove Road, New Hope, Madison, Alabama, USA.) |
Cause of her death was of ovarian cancer.