Secretary loved work as an extra in movies

By Rick Badie

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Willie Hill worked as an extra for a number of movies that were filmed in and around Atlanta.

Sometimes her part made it only onto the cutting-room floor. At other times, viewers might get a glimpse of the Atlanta native. That was the case in "Madea's Family Reunion," Tyler Perry's sequel to "Diary of a Mad Black Woman."

"In that one particular movie, there's a scene where you can see her frame," said her daughter, Linda Jolly of Atlanta. "She had someone in her church who did makeup for movies, and she'd let the elderly in the church know when they needed extras of a certain age.

Willie Belle Turner S. Hill, 82, of Atlanta, died June 10 of a brain tumor at Sacred Journey Hospice in McDonough. The funeral will be 1 p.m. Tuesday at Hillside International Chapel and Truth Center in Atlanta. Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Hill was born in Atlanta, the eldest of nine children. As the oldest, she was given her late father's name —- "Willie." She attended Ashby Street School —- now called E.R. Carter Elementary —- and in 1944 graduated from Booker T. Washington High.

She attended Clark Atlanta University for two years before joining the secretarial pool at the Atlanta Life Insurance Company.

The company was located on historic Sweet Auburn Avenue, a mecca for black entrepreneurs. Her uncles owned two businesses on the street.

"One owned a barbershop and one owned a headstone business," her daughter said. "She worked in and around Auburn Avenue, and had the opportunity to see all the stars that appeared at clubs in that area. She always talked about the people who would appear there and the people she would see."

After various secretarial jobs, Mrs. Hill worked nearly 30 years as a secretary for the federal government in Atlanta. She retired in 1994.

In the community, she kept busy with many hobbies and activities. She was a member of the 80-plus Club and Garden Club at Quality Living Services, a senior facility in Atlanta. She was active in the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP. She belonged to The JUGS (Just Us Girls), a women's group that played bridge and took their children on picnics. She created party platters for friends. And she loved to travel.

Besides "Madea's Family Reunion," Mrs. Hill had worked as a movie extra for "Drumline" and "The Fighting Temptations," among others.

"She really enjoyed doing that," her daughter said. "My mother had a wonderful life and enjoyed every minute of it. Even when she was sick, she'd wake up early in the morning and write affirmations on [how] she wanted us to raise her grandchildren, and what she wanted her three children to do with their lives."

Additional survivors other than her daughter include a son, Leland E. Scott Jr., of Atlanta; a daughter, Latise Reynolds of Decatur; two sisters, Verna "Bunch" Vining of Decatur and Delores Turner of Atlanta: a brother, Calvin Turner of Detroit, Mich.; eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Obituaries