Howard "Kent" Hills

Howard Kent Hills of Silver Spring, Maryland, peacefully passed into eternal life September 10, 2024, with his wife of 64 years, Marilyn, by his side. In the prior days and hours, he was surrounded by family.

Kent was a man of keen intellect and myriad interests which he approached with characteristic curiosity, diligence, and depth. He was engaged and hardworking his entire life, delivering papers in elementary school and retiring at 81 years old as a space physicist.

He was born September 21, 1938, to Howard Hornby and Helen (Milligan) Hills in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, where he was raised. His grandmother was his elementary school principal, and his future mother-in-law taught him English in high school. He graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School in 1957 and went on to earn a BS, MS, and PhD from the University of Iowa. He was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. His career was inspired by Dr. James Van Allen, who was his advisor and for whom he worked while in university. His doctorate in Space Physics inspired the rest of his professional life.

He taught physics at Iowa Wesleyan College in his hometown before employment at Rice University in Houston. There, he and colleague Dr. John W. Freeman were principal investigators who developed the Suprathermal Ion Detector Experiment instruments, which were carried on the Apollo 12, 14, and 15 missions, deployed by astronauts, and left on the moon. The experiment made headlines in 1971 for detecting the first evidence of water vapor on the moon. He went on to have a long career as a chief scientist at the National Space Science Data Center at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. He specialized in data retrieval and distribution, data analysis and display, data management, database management systems, flight hardware, and flight operations planning. He also published many papers.

Kent’s constant curiosity about mechanics and technology manifested in personal pursuits as well. He tinkered with and worked on his black Model-A in high school, which he bought used for $10 or $15 – Kent and Marilyn’s first dates were in that prized car. In the late 70s, he earned his pilot’s license and enjoyed flying recreationally. And he was always working on a project, whether refinishing a kitchen table, taking apart a lawnmower motor, repairing the family cars, or reviving items that others were ready to give up on and replace! Don’t forget his garden! Green beans and tomatoes of all types were favorites, and family and friends enjoyed the fruits of his efforts, even this summer, when his son, Greg, planted his garden, and grandchildren and neighbors weeded and watered it.

He still found time for music, which was an enduring interest in his life, and he found many opportunities to play his trumpet.

Kent played at the 1959 Rose Bowl with the University of Iowa Marching Band and continued over many decades to return to Iowa, joining the Alumni Band at Homecoming with his brother, Jared, who played the tuba.

For many years, he played with the Rosebud Musical Group, a ragtime band based in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Practice with the Greenbelt Concert Band was his regular Monday night routine — with the Greenbelt Wind Ensemble on Tuesdays. His grandchildren, children, and their spouses have warm memories of gathering each Fourth of July for picnics at Greenbelt Lake, arriving early to hear Kent play patriotic music with the band.

He also enjoyed many hours practicing with and performing for annual dinner theater productions with MAD, an amateur music and drama club at Goddard, which mounted full musicals each year. Kent avidly participated until Covid interrupted. For years, his children and grandchildren filled a table at the fall performances. Kent had an adventurous spirit evidenced by earning his Eagle Scout. He was also on summer staff at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. On one trip there, he was dropping supplies to a group on a back-country hike and stayed in an old trapper’s cabin. That night, a bear entered through the front door while he was sleeping. Ever practical and cool-headed, he reached under the bed and grabbed a handful of nails, which he threw at the bear, sending it running.

Years later, he went on seven mission trips to Haiti. After a massive earthquake hit the island in 2010, Marilyn encouraged Kent to go with her on the first trip. He responded to the needs after that, and son David and grandson Sam went on a subsequent mission. While there, he put his mechanical skills and technical know-how to work, installing a generator for a hospital and solar panels for the computers at the compound, repairing a donated microscope for the hospital, helping with larger construction projects, and making general repairs to cars, refrigerators, and other broken and donated items.

His faith in Christ was always very important, and he was committed to his church. Since they joined Glenn Dale United Methodist Church in 1978, he was not only a regular attendee but served on the Board of Trustees many years and was the Finance Chair several times. Kent was also in charge of the Perkins Cemetery there. In later years, his primary contribution was playing the trumpet at services.

Kent and Marilyn enjoyed travel together, leaving their three children with family in Iowa for a 6-week trip to Europe in 1976 during which he presented papers at meetings in Prague and Vienna. Later, after Marilyn retired, they traveled to Europe, including Scandinavia, Australia, Asia, and South America. A trip to Russia allowed him to practice his Russian language studies, which he began in college and later applied professionally. Their interest in the world was a welcoming one as well — they hosted exchange students from Japan and Germany as well as a teacher from Russia, all of whom became lifelong friends and whom they visited in their home countries. They also traveled to every state in the United States.

Through it all, he was always available to his three children, and his eight grandchildren remember his active engagement — whether he was helping to build a topographical map out of plaster, fulfilling a young granddaughter’s wish to make a gingerbread apartment house, or designing a mini circus tent for a child’s circus figures. Kent made many trips to visit his daughter, Nancy, and family who lived further away. These visits were precious touchpoints, and the grandchildren remember that he came for many birthdays and always gave them his full attention. He was happy to play with them, on the floor or outside, or engage in whatever adventures they proposed. His zeal for puzzles was something he shared with Nancy, especially. Chess games with his brother, sons, and grandchildren leave wonderful memories. Kent’s attention to detail – whether interpreting data or spending time with family – was legendary, always quietly but thoroughly done.

Over the last four months, family was regularly at hand to be of support to Kent and Marilyn as Kent struggled with the effects of congestive heart failure. He had many good moments, including games of Kings on the Corner with Marilyn, watching slideshows of old photos with David, a celebration for four of his grandchildren who were graduating from high school and college in May and an early 21st birthday for one grandson two weeks ago.

Kent will be lovingly missed by his children David, Greg, and Nancy; grandchildren Sam, Sophie, and Colman Hills (David Hills and Kristen Henley-Hills), Hannah and Grace Hills (Greg and Marchele Hills), and Elena, Nick, and Jacob Hull (Nancy and Doug Hull); sister-in-law Carol Hills; brother-in-law James Clark and wife, Janine; brother-in-law Arlo MacDowell and wife, Freda, and many friends and colleagues near and far. He was recently predeceased by brother, Jared Hills, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

There will be a celebration of Kent’s life on Saturday, October 5, at 11 a.m. at Glenn Dale United Methodist Church, 8500 Springfield Rd. Glenn Dale, MD, with a visitation at 10 a.m. and lunch
following the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Glenn Dale United Methodist Church, 8500 Springfield Rd. Glenn Dale, MD 20769.