Lance Hill, a beloved longtime Redmond High teacher, died Dec. 26 after a battle with cancer.

A celebration of Hill’s life is set for Saturday, Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. at the First Interstate Bank Center in the Deschutes County Fair & Expo grounds.

Hill was a decorated agriculture teacher at Redmond and Mountain View high schools for decades, inspiring a long line of students and coworkers to succeed in and out of his classroom.

Redmond High principal Audrey Haugan said Hill “was loved by everyone and (made) a huge impact on Redmond High.”

Haugan said Hill was one of the first people she met after moving to Redmond, and he welcomed and supported her immediately. She remembered Hill’s wife, Jenny, used the expression “famous in a small town” when talking about how many people knew and liked her husband.

“That’s so true,” said Haugan. “He was connected in Redmond, and he connected all of us.”

Kris Davis, Redmond High wrestling coach and a friend of Hill’s, said he was always awed by the way Hill could connect with students, especially those who were difficult to reach.

“He had a way of approaching them, finding a way to get to them that other teachers couldn’t,” said Davis.

Current Redmond High ag teacher Kendyl Smith taught alongside Hill for just a year, but the two knew each since her student teaching days. In fact, he advocated for her to get to Redmond and run the ag program after he was gone.

For Smith, seeing how much he believed in her helped her become better at her job.

”That just gave me a huge boost of confidence that he was behind me and thought I could do it,” she said.

Smith said Hill’s footprints remain all over the Redmond High FFA program — from its high standards to its outside-the-box lessons to its supportive atmosphere.

”He showed us how to get the best out of students and that’s going to continue for a long time,” said Smith.

Hill grew up on a small farm in Redmond and was a member of 4-H and the local FFA. He graduated from Redmond High in 1987.

After deciding he wanted to teach agriculture, Hill never wavered from his plan. First, he earned a scholarship to Linn-Benton Community College, traveling around the country on the school’s livestock evaluation team. Then he attended Fresno State University on another scholarship.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural education there, then earned a master’s degree in teaching from Oregon State University.

His mentoring work began at Washington Union High School in California, where field students and student teachers from Fresno State watched and learned as Hill taught students about the bountiful food grown in the Central Valley.

In 2001, Hill moved back to Redmond and began teaching at Mountain View in Bend. While there, he started working with the teacher mentorship program at OSU’s ag education department. He served as a lifeline for teachers, helping them navigate through challenges.

He took over the top ag job at Redmond High from his inspiration Ted Tesconi when Tesconi retired in 2009.

In 2020 he was honored by the National Association of Agricultural Educators with its Teacher Mentor Award, for his tireless work helping other ag teachers succeed.

In memory of Hill, Christmas lights will be lit in every Redmond High window that faces outward all week. Staff and students are writing letters to the Hill family. The school is accepting donations in his honor. Counselors are also available for any students and staff who need them.