A nonprofit tied to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office joined in an effort to pay for and coordinate the transport of Tiffany Hill, who was killed by her estranged husband in front of their three children outside a Hazel Dell school, to New York for a military service and burial.
There has been an outpouring of support for Hill’s children and her family since the shooting at Sarah J. Anderson Elementary School two days before Thanksgiving, according to a Facebook post by Santa’s Posse.
Santa’s Posse is a partnership between the sheriff’s office and community members who collect and distribute toys and food for families in need during the holidays.
The Facebook post says the nonprofit worked with Lincoln Memorial Park in Portland to cover the costs of flying Hill’s remains to Brooklyn, N.Y., where she will receive a military service and burial.
“With the help of Lt. Scott Creager from the Port of Portland Police, our friends at Alaska Airlines covered the travel for the children, grandmother and family members back to their new home,” the post says.
Over the past several weeks, the nonprofit also teamed up with local businesses to provide transportation for Tiffany Hill’s extended family and planned a lunch at Beaches restaurant for friends and teachers of her children, said CCSO Sgt. Kevin Allais. The kids also attended a Portland Trailblazers game thanks to donors.
Allais said the community stepped up to help give the family a sense of normalcy while dealing with their tragedy.
Public visitation took place Monday in Brooklyn and will continue today, according to an obituary. Family and friends will gather Wednesday at the Daniel J. Schaefer Funeral Home before an interment at Calverton National Cemetery. The family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to support funeral services to the Venmo account @jnice612.
Family members have said Tiffany Hill was a Marine Corps sergeant. She joined the Marine Corps in 2005 and was deployed to Iraq in 2007, where she served for two years, according to the obituary.
During her service time, her awards included the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, the obituary said. She was honorably discharged in 2008 for injuries she suffered during her service.
Hill was born and raised in Brooklyn before joining the Marine Corps, according to the obituary. She had six siblings.
During a candlelight vigil Dec. 1, Hill was described as caring, affectionate and gritty. She was a member of the elementary school’s parent teacher association and would often cook meals and perform other roles for school events.
On Nov. 26, Vancouver’s Keland Hill shot his wife, 35-year-old Tiffany Hill, and her mother, while they sat in a parked minivan at the elementary school in Hazel Dell. Three children were inside the vehicle but were physically unhurt.
Following a brief police pursuit, Keland Hill shot himself in the head at Padden Parkway and Andresen Road. He and Tiffany Hill were later pronounced dead. Tiffany Hill’s mother suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.
Keland Hill was out of jail on bail pending a court hearing in an ongoing domestic violence case and was the subject of an active restraining order.
Three legislators told The Columbian last week that more needs to be done to protect domestic violence victims, and they will seek or support changes to state law following Tiffany Hill’s death.
Jerzy Shedlock: 360-735-4522; jerzy.shedlock@columbian.com; twitter.com/jerzyms
