He parks his car in the driveway at about 5:30 every night after school. He exits the car and walks toward his favorite tree: the worry tree. He rubs his palm on the tree, relieving himself of all the worries and stresses of his day before he enters his home. He does this so he has ample energy when he greets and spends time with his family.  

World history teacher and football coach Jeff Hill separates his work life from his family life. Hill puts his family above everything and attributes that to the way his parents raised him. Hill grew up in a town near Houston and moved to Bonham — a small town with a population of 10,000 people — at the age of 13.

“I grew up in a couple of different places,” Hill said. “We moved because my parents are teachers and coaches. They wanted to be in a smaller town. My dad wanted a good job and my mom wanted to work at the same place that he worked at and Bonham was the place. Everyone knew everybody, and it was the right fit for me and my family.”

Hill said although his parents were occupied with their jobs, they always made time for him and his siblings. 

“Dad was always the authoritarian, but me and him always went and did hobbies together,” Hill said. “My mom was of course the nurturer, and I was a momma’s boy. We were really close, and I could talk to her about anything. They were the perfect parents. They were always there. Never heard them fighting, never heard them arguing about stuff. They always made sure [my siblings and I] were first before anything else.”

After graduating from high school, Hill attended various colleges to play football and experience larger campuses, also meeting his wife there. 

“I went to Bacone college to go play football and then I transferred to South Eastern Oklahoma State University to play football as well,” Hill said. “I was [at South Eastern] for a couple years, but both of [the colleges] were small schools just like Bonham being a small town. I met Amy, my wife, [at North Texas] and I got to have a lot of friends and meet a lot of people and get my degree. I was blessed to be able to go there.” 

Hill married his wife in 2013 and had his first child, Kinsley, in 2016. Three years later, they had their second child, Kason. Hill has encouraged bonds to form between his kids and their cousins.

“We see each other at least once a week,” Hill said.  “My little nephew Jackson is 5 and my daughter Kinsley is 3, so we try to get them together as much as possible because they love each other. Amy and my soon-to-be sister-in-law are really close, and we all just enjoy hanging out together and being a tight, close family.”