Hundreds of mourners, including members of at least 20 area law-enforcement agencies and fire departments, gathered Friday morning to pay their respects to Santa Fe police Officer Jason Hill, who died of leukemia a week ago.

In fact, so many turned out at St. Anne Parish at Hickox and Alicia streets that organizers closed the church after it reached capacity and at least 30 people still waiting to enter were directed to a nearby gymnasium where chairs and a video feed were set up.

State police Lt. Eric Garcia estimated the crowd at about 500, and roads leading to and around the church were closed.

After a Mass and several eulogies, the U.S. flag-draped coffin carrying the 39-year-old former city officer, Santa Fe County sheriff's deputy and Los Alamos firefighter was brought out the church's front door. Hill's wife, Annemarie Hill, sobbed and kissed the coffin before it was loaded into a hearse. Annemarie Hill shut the hearse door and appeared to have difficulty letting go of the door handle.

A procession of about 100 cars then followed the hearse on an approximately hour-long, circuitous route through the city that passed by Hill's home, the Santa Fe Police Department headquarters on Cerrillos Road and finally arrived at the Rosario Cemetery at the corner of Paseo de Peralta and Guadalupe Street. He was buried after more eulogies.

Hill, an avid weight lifter and athlete, appeared to be in perfect health until he began experiencing back pain in July 2008. He went to the doctor and found out he had acute myeloid leukemia, which starts in the bone marrow and quickly moves to the blood. He was given three months to live.

Hill underwent a bone marrow transplant earlier this year and the cancer was briefly in remission. However, the disease returned recently and Hill died Saturday at Baylor University Hospital in Dallas of complications caused by the H1N1 flu.

Hill, an Albuquerque native, was remembered as a strong but soft-spoken public servant who was popular among his fellow officers.

"Everyone liked him," Garcia said. "He will be missed."

In addition to his wife, Hill is survived by his children, Breanna, Elizabethanne, Jordann and Tyler.

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Below is a previously published obituary. A guest book   is available for friends and family.

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Santa Fe police Officer Jason Hill, 39, died Saturday at Baylor University Hospital in Dallas from complications due to the H1N1 virus and an acute form of leukemia, said Santa Fe Police Chief Aric Wheeler.

Hill was diagnosed with leukemia in August 2008 after going to the doctor for back problems. Doctors gave him three months to live, but after extensive treatments, including a bone marrow transplant, Hill had been told by doctors this past April that his leukemia was in remission.

However, Wheeler said, the leukemia returned in October, and Hill's health had "steadily been declining since." He said Hill had been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, pneumonia and bronchitis at that time.

Hill began his service career as a firefighter in Los Alamos. He then moved on to work for the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department. Sheriff Greg Solano said Hill was one of the better deputies to come through his office.

"He really cared a lot about the community, and I believe that's why he became an officer," Solano said in a phone interview Saturday. "He was one of my best deputies. He really cared about being an officer. It was more than just a job to him."

Solano described Hill as a polite person who "kept it cool" no matter what happened.

"We not only lost a great officer, but we lost a great person," Solano said. "It's hard to come by public servants that care like he did."

Wheeler agreed.

"He was a wonderful person, a giving person," Wheeler said. "I think it's a loss that will impact us all. You don't find enough police officers like him. As a person, he was outgoing and super involved in the community. He was willing to give the shirt off his back to anybody in the community at any time. He was a top-notch police officer. The pride and honor he brought to the Santa Fe Police Department — I don't know how we'll ever replace that."

Hill is survived by his wife, Annemarie Hill, and his children Breanna, Elizabethanne, Jordann and Tyler.


Contact Ana Maria Trujillo at 986-3084 or atrujillo@sfnewmexican.com.