"We'll miss you most of all scarecrow" -Dorothy
On November 27th, 2008, a day to be thankful, we are thankful that our cherished husband, father, papa, brother and friend is finally at peace in Heaven. In his final days, Tony was surrounded by family who loved and cared for him as he did so many in his life. As he battled cancer, he continued to keep his good humor and his ability to make everyone laugh and smile around him.
Tony was born Anthony Bruce Rees on July 3rd 1958 in Ketchikan,Ak. to Charles E. Rees and Gertrud E. Rees. He then moved to San Francisco and Concord, Ca., Eugene, Or., and Kent, WA., where his first daughter was born in 1974. He then enlisted in the service in 1976 when he was 17 until he was honorably discharged after the death of his youngest brother. Tony then moved to King County and was married in 1979 and had two more daughters. In 1982 he moved to Skagit county. In 1991 he re-married to Leona Ann Millett and enjoyed a life filled with camping, hunting, fishing and family vacations.
Tony worked for Skagit County Parks and Recreation for 17 years. He was the facilities coordinator for the fairgrounds and was involved in many community programs. He was instrumental in the success of the Skagit County Fair, the annual Haunted cave and food drive. He was a roll model for many PIC kids and college students over the years.
Tony will be remembered for his clever stories, his laughter, his kind words of inspiration and his silent strength that so many admired. He believed that it really did take a village to raise a child and full heartedly participated in not only his grandchildren's upbringing but numerous nieces and nephews and members of our community.
Tony is survived by his wife Leona, his children Allison(Gregg), Danielle(Josh), and Crystal. His 5 granddaughters, Izabell, Olivia, Madison, Patience and Emma with his first grandson due to arrive in April 09. His 8 siblings, Joyce Cole(Bob),Chuck, Tim(Katie),Raymond(John),Thomas(Shirley),William(Kelly)Celeste Orthund(Jay),Marci Watson(Bob), and many nieces and nephews. He is proceeded in death by his mother Gertrud (Trudy) Rees, his brother Patrick (Pepper) John, and his nephew Christopher Micheal.
Tony left a major impact on so many lives. He believed in taking chances and living life to the fullest, and instilled that in his children, grandchildren and everyone he met. We are all better people having loved and been loved by this amazing man. He will be deeply missed. As Tony would say, Drizzle drazzle drizzle drone, its time for this one, to go home.
A special thanks to Skagit Hospice and Skagit cancer care alliance. Services for Tony will be held at Hillcrest Lodge in Mount Vernon, Tuesday December 30th at 3pm. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to The march of Dimes foundation and The Mule Deer foundation.
Tonight our family celebrated the second night of Hanukkah. We lit the candles, thanked God for our freedom of religion and our everyday miracles, played the dreidel game, and then made homemade donuts. Many of you are saying to yourselves "the Hills are Jewish?", yes by heritage we are Jewish. My Oma was a Holocaust survivor. Living with her family in Germany they survived the war. We celebrate Hanukkah as a family for a few reasons. I also would challenge those of you who are Christians to think about taking up this wonderful tradition. First we are celebrating the freedom of religion. The Jews were forced by the Greek-Syrians to worship idols that they put in the Jewish temple. The first thing the Jews did when the got their freedom back was to clean out the temple, rededicate it, and light the menorah. Second we celebrate everyday miracles. The story goes on that the menorah only had one day of oil, but God kept it burning for eight days until the Jews could retrieve more oil. It is a celebration of freedom, re dedication, and miracles. We light candles each night to represent each day of miracles. We serve fried foods (homemade donuts or potato pancakes) to represent the oil, and we thank God for our freedom to worship and for everyday miracles. I hope that this helps you understand why the Hills celebrate. 
