Margaret M. "Mickie" Hill

Thanksgiving-day birthday girl Margaret (Still) Hill, known by her friends and family as Mickie, of Duluth, GA and Atlantic Beach, FL, lost her 9-month battle with cancer on January 27, 2018. She was 69 years old, born on November 25, 1948. While she loved having a fall birthday, she had a touch (maybe more than a "touch") of bitterness over having to share it with that particular holiday. As a child she despised it more so, because who would want their birthday dinner to involve turkey and/or leftovers? Mickie is survived by her son Shawn, daughter-in-law Ann, granddaughters Casey, Hannah and Lauren, known to her as "the girls," of Johns Creek, GA, and her brother Rick and his family, Ginger, Heather, Megan and Matthew, of Kingsley Lake, FL. She loved animals, well really only dogs if being honest, especially her adopted rescued terrier Willow and grand-dog Bear. She loved the ocean, especially looking for shark's teeth, had a knack for growing tomatoes, made beautiful stained-glass art, cheered her heart out for Alabama football and made a killer broccoli casserole. She was a vocal critic of bad haircuts for dogs, and hated salmon, gossipers, green peppers, hypocrites, bad waiters, Auburn, and peas, though not necessarily in that order. Her work focused on doing what she loved rather than the pursuit of money, so she spent 20 years working at Mayport Naval Station in Florida, where she grew up and spent most of her adult life. She also worked several years at Duluth Animal Hospital after relocating to Georgia to be closer to her granddaughters. She knew most people by the names of their pets rather than their human names. "Oh, you're Doug the Pug's Dad; he's overdue for his heart worm medicine" she might be overheard saying to an unsuspecting passerby in the grocery store. She was beloved by many and was known as a fiercely loyal friend. One of her favorite things to say was that she spelled her name Mickie "not like the mouse, but like a girl with an I-E on the end." This nickname was derived when she was young and wanted a different name than her mother, who was also named Margaret. There might also be some truth to the rumor that Mickie was a cute nickname when younger because it rhymed with her older brother "Rickie", but she'd just assume we forgot about that. Although she was not Catholic, she was well-known by many parishioners at St. Brigid Catholic Church through her son and his family. A memorial service in her honor will be Thursday, February 8 at the church at 4 p.m. A brief reception at the church's Corbett Hall to follow immediately after. In lieu of flowers, (although she loved white Gerber daisies!), please donate to the Gwinnett Humane Society at www.gwinnetthumane.com. The address for St. Brigid Catholic Church is 3400 Old Alabama Rd, Alpharetta, GA 30022.