THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 18, 1996 TAG: 9607160125
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 19 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN COMPASS SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: 80 lines
``AS GOOD AS GOLD.''
Those are the words Eddie Hill repeatedly utters about his wife of nearly 54 years, Edith.
Eddie is as good as gold, too, three times over at this year's Golden Games in Williamsburg, where he earned three gold medals in the 75-79 age division: One for running 50 meters in 8.2 seconds, one for running the 100 in 16.4 seconds and another for throwing a discus 82 feet, 4 inches.
The medals, shiny testimonials to the fitness level he has maintained at age 76, are nice, but not what he's in the game for. Indeed, Hill, aspires to remain fit, to treat his body as a temple, but not because he'd like to shed pounds or tack extra years onto his life.
Hill only wants to remain healthy to care for Edith, afflicted with Alzheimer's disease four years ago. Occasionally Eddie calls on help from his friends at church or the staff at respite care, but mainly he relies on himself to bathe and dress Edith, cook her meals and tidy the house that she took such great pride in. Edith no longer speaks, nor does she walk.
``She is a beautiful person, good inside and out,'' he says of his wife, who is seated in their living room eyeing her husband. ``A lot of times, it's hard. I can't tell exactly what she wants. It's especially hard if she has a pain.''
His faith allows him to persevere as does his body, which he says he treats ``as a temple of the Holy Spirit.''
Eddie Hill has always been an athlete, initially a tumbler and weightlifter at Maury, where he graduated in 1939. The school's tumbling team, he says, won the state championship three years in a row while he was there.
He enjoyed distance running back then, too, especially the 440. ``Such a challenging race,'' he says. ``It's a sprint the whole way; you don't have time to catch your breath.''
He worked for a while as a marine pipe fitter before returning to school to study engineering at Virginia Tech, where he only had time to dabble in intramurals. Going to school back then made for some lean times, but he credits Edith for keeping them together and helping him attain his degree in 1951.
``She could stretch a pound of hamburger for a mile,'' he says proudly.
Hill worked as an engineer for the government but retired almost 20 years ago. He began competing at the Senior Olympics, now called the Golden Games, seven years ago just for kicks. He trains for the running events by jogging on a small trampoline that he keeps in the back bedroom.
``It cuts down on the impact,'' he explains. ``When you get to be 76, the joints aren't as resilient as they used to be.''
A couple times a week, he takes Edith in a wheelchair to a park about a mile from their house and throws the discus and the shotput while she watches. The golds - and the silver medals he earned in the shot and the long jump - earned him the chance to compete at next year's nationals in Tucson, but he doubts he'll go.
Edith is always his first concern, the part of his life that he likes talking about most. He shows off the wood carvings around the house that they made together - several beautiful birds created with exquisite detail and painted to perfection.
``These two loons, she made this one and I made the other,'' he says with only a hint of sadness.
Once in a while a tear runs down Eddie's face when he talks of Edith's condition deteriorating, but quickly he wipes it away, runs his hands through his shoulder-length gray locks and reflects on the positive.
``The Lord said we'd have three score and 10. These are bonus years,'' he says.
Athletics is fun for Eddie, a physical outlet, but he doesn't call it an escape. The constant care-giving that would be a grind to many is something he can handle.
``I don't need an escape,'' he says. ``I can be with her all day and enjoy it.''
A handwritten sign in a hallway just off the kitchen notes the love that's always been in his heart. In black marker, Eddie has written words telling Edith she is a treasure, so wonderful and beautiful inside and out, the woman he loves.
A reminder for her?
``Yes,'' he says softly. ``And for me, too.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JIM WALKER
Eddie Hill won three gold and two silver medals in the Golden Games
in Williamsburg. Hill won in the 75-79 age division. by CNB