Rooted in Granger: The Story of Henry Earl Hill
Henry Earl Hill: A Lifetime Rooted in Granger
Henry Earl Hill — known simply as Earl — was born on September 19, 1894, in Granger, Utah Territory, back when this west-side farming community was still open fields and canals. He spent his entire life rooted in the same place where he came into the world.
Earl was the son of Alexander Joseph Hill and Betsy Ann Bawden, who married in 1883 and built their one-room home across the Jordan River — on land that’s now the site of the Valley Fair Mall. Life tested the Hill family early: they lost their first four children in infancy before welcoming ten more, nine of whom lived to adulthood. Frequent flooding from the North Jordan and South Jordan Canals didn’t stop the family from working the land and making their living as farmers.
Earl attended public school through the eighth grade, then joined his father in working the farm full-time. Outside the fields, he loved playing softball and was well-known across the valley for his beautiful singing voice — a gift that would serve him well throughout his life.
When the United States entered World War I, Earl volunteered for the Army on February 2, 1918. He trained with Company I, Signal Corps at Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma, then served overseas with Battery C, 128th Field Artillery Unit, 35th Division. He fought in the Vosges Mountains, the St. Mihiel sector, the Argonne Forest, and the Sommedieue sector on the Verdun Front, rising to First Class Private before returning home in April 1919.
After the war, Earl returned to Granger and the family farm, as recorded in the 1920 Census. After his father’s passing in 1926, he stayed to care for his mother until her death in 1929. From January 1930 to March 1932, he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Southern States Mission.
Back home again, his singing voice helped him find love. At a fireside event, he met Mary “Mae” Alta Bunker, who was moved by his song. They married on June 29, 1934, in the Salt Lake LDS Temple, and Mae moved into the Hill family home.
Earl remained deeply devoted to his faith and community. He served as bishop of the Granger 3rd Ward, guiding neighbors in times of need. Together with his brothers, he kept the farm going as long as they could, but as times changed, Earl found steady work with the Utah Copper Company (later Kennecott). Over the next 25 years, he supported Mae and their growing family — one son and two daughters — while working long shifts at the copper mine and tending the farm when he could.
In 1962, Earl retired from Kennecott. The next year, he sold the family farm and home — the same property his parents once carved out of open land — and built a new house at 3423 Pearce Drive, still in Granger, now part of West Valley City.
Earl passed away on June 2, 1980, at the age of 85. He left behind not just land or a house, but a legacy of quiet service, steady faith, hard work, and deep roots in the place he always called home.
