Page 184 - PGM Compendium

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Of
M⸫W⸫ Matthew W. Hill

1941-1942

Most Worshipful Brother Matthew W Hill was born on
June 26, I898, in Bozeman, Montana, the only child of
Saxton and Mary Elma (Noe) Hill. When the family
moved to Lester, Washington, in 1907, he attended a
two-room school, later being graduated from Stadium
High School, Tacoma. Enjoying the mental exhilaration
of school and learning, his post-secondary education was
at the University of Washington. His record at the UW
was extensive. He was a member of the debating team,
and Vice- President of the Associated Students. He was
made a member of the Oval Club and Fir Tree, the upper
class honorary societies; as well as being a member of
Delta Upsilon, Phi Alpha Delta, and a number of other
honorary fraternities. He graduated cum laude from the University of Washington in 1917 with a
Bachelors of Law degree. He would receive his Juris Doctor from Seattle Pacific College.

It is said that our Most Worshipful Brother was one of those rare individuals who rose to the top
or leadership of every group with whom he was associated. He was awarded the University of
Washington Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1979; he was President of the University of
Washington Alumni Association; he was a member of several honor societies, including the Order
of the Coif; he was a Superior Court Judge. On January 13, 1947, he was appointed to serve on the
State Supreme Court. He was Chief Justice of the Court from January 1957 to January 1959. He
would retire from the Court on December 31, 1969.

Endowed with an inquisitive mind and a belief in the brotherhood of man, he was initiated as an
Entered Apprentice Mason on September 9, 1924. He passed to the degree of a Fellowcraft Mason
on January 22, 1925, and was raised to the sublime degree of a Master Meison on April 25 of the
same year in St.
John's Lodge No. 9. He served as Master of his Lodge in 1933.
Brother Hill served as Grand Orator in 1933-1934, and was elected Junior Grand Warden in 1937,
advancing each year until being elected Grand Master in 1940. After serving as Grand Master, he
was immediately appointed to the Jurisprudence Committee. During the following years, fifteen
other Grand Masters would appoint or reappoint him to this important committee, many times as
Chairman.

Outside of the Blue Lodge, he was honored by Masonic affiliated groups with the Thirty-third
Degree, Scottish Rite, and membership in the Red Cross of Constantine by the Royal Arch. He