BLAZERS MOURN PASSING OF OFF-ICE OFFICIAL
Photo by Allen Douglas – Kamloops This Week
By Marty Hastings – Kamloops This Week
Published: June 03, 2013 2:00 PM
Updated: June 03, 2013 2:25 PM
Many associated with the Kamloops Blazers are mourning the loss of off-ice official Jim Hill, who died on the morning of Monday, June 3.
“I really enjoyed working with Jim,” said Bill O’Donovan, the Western Hockey League club’s public-address announcer.
“I sat beside him down in the timekeepers’ box for the last six seasons. He took his responsibilities very seriously but, at the same time, we could have a laugh about some things.”
He was 70.
Hill had a heart condition and was expected to have surgery to repair the problem later this month. He was apparently planning to take his new motorbike on a road trip later this summer.
After moving to Kamloops with wife Noreen in 1990, Hill started working for the Blazers as an usher at Memorial Arena.
When the Blue and Orange moved into Riverside Coliseum (now Interior Savings Centre) in 1992, Hill began working security by the entrance to the Blazers’ bench.
He later became an off-ice official, looking after the visitors’ penalty box before becoming a timekeeper, his role for the past eight seasons.
