UPDATED March 21, 2025
Harry R. Hill, Jr., who provided legal counsel and services to four bishops of the Diocese of Trenton, died March 19 at the age of 94.
Mr. Hill was a member of St. Ann Parish, Lawrenceville, along with his wife, Sara, with whom he raised three children.
Retired from Backes & Hill, Lawrenceville, since 2023, Mr. Hill was previously a principal in Backes & Backes, which provided legal services to the Diocese and its parishes, schools and other entities for more than 100 years.
Mr. Hill was also a member of the Diocesan Finance Council and had also been active in other diocesan-related entities, including chairman of the board of trustees and finance committee of the former St. Francis Medical Center, Trenton, and the stewardship committee for Catholic Health East, the parent corporation of St. Francis Medical Center.
Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., commented on Mr. Hill’s legacy, stating, “Harry once told me that he considered serving as diocesan attorney the greatest achievement of his life. He served the diocese and four of its bishops with great honor, dedication and commitment. I admired him greatly and with much gratitude for his life’s work. May he rest in peace.”
Joe Bianchi, the Diocese’s Chief Administrative Officer in the Department of Temporal Administration, commended Mr. Hill’s dedication to his career serving the Diocese of Trenton and to upholding Catholic teachings.
Kevin Cimei, the Diocese’s Chief Financial Officer in the Department of Fiscal Administration, spoke of how Mr. Hill “was passionate in his support for the diocese and his love and knowledge of the law.”
Tony Mingarino, who retired in 2017 after serving nearly 14 years as the Diocese’s Chancellor and Chief Administrative Officer, thought back to his first day at the Diocese more than 20 years ago and “Harry Hill came to the Chancery to introduce himself.”
“What amazed me most was his incredible memory and how thoroughly immersed he was in every case, even those handled by the other attorneys. He was always the consummate Catholic gentleman and very protective of the Diocese and the reputation of the Catholic Church,” Mingarino said.
“I have worked with many attorneys my entire corporate career and he was one of the finest. I last worked with him eight years ago as I was retiring. He was 86 then. I was sure he would outlive me. May he rest in peace.”
Born in Trenton in 1930, Mr. Hill was raised in the Hillwood Lakes area of Ewing Township and graduated from Trenton High School in 1948. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from Rutgers University in 1952, and an L.L.B. (Bachelor of Laws) degree from Wake Forest University Law School in 1955 where he also belonged to Phi Delta Phi.
Mr. Hill’s passion for the law and thirst for the defense of good was sparked when he was a student in Rutgers and cut classes to ride the train from New Brunswick to Trenton to watch the infamous trial of the Trenton Six. He began his law career in Trenton as a legal clerk and Katzenbach, Gildea & Rudner in 1956, he was hired by the Trenton law firm of Backes & Backes in 1958.
Over the years the firm evolved into Backes, Waldron & Hill and finally Backes & Hill. His career spanned 65 years at the same firm handling a variety of matters but mainly complex litigation and work as general counsel to the Diocese of Trenton. He was proud to have served four Bishops (George W. Ahr, John C. Reiss, John M. Smith and David M. O’Connell, C.M.) over his long career.
Mr. Hill’s service to the Church was rewarded in 2011 when Pope Benedict XVI bestowed on him the Benemerenti Medal for service to the Church. In addition to the New Jersey State Bar, he was admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts of New Jersey and D.C., as well as the District Court of Appeals in D.C., the Third Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
He also served as president of the Mercer County Bar Association from 1967 to 1969, where he also received the Michael J. Nizolek Aawrd. He was honored as a Professional Lawyer of the Year by the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law and had a session of the Mercer County American Inn of Court named for him.
Other organizations in which he served on the board of directors included Hope Ministries, Neumann Insurance Company, Franciscan Health Corporation East, Trenton YMCA, American National Red Cross-Trenton Chapter and Delaware Valley United Way. He was a cofounder and counsel of the Better Business Bureau of Central NJ, a Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International and named Man of the Year by the Trenton Jaycees.
Mr. Hill was predeceased by his parents, Harry R. Hill, Sr., and Mary Alice Abrahams, his brother Judge William David Hill, and his wife Kathleen.
In addition to Sara, his wife of 58 years, Mr. Hill is survived by three children, Mark and his wife, Karin, John and his wife, Lindsey, and Elizabeth; five grandchildren and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
Funeral arrangements will be held March 29 in St. Ann Church, 1253 Lawrenceville Rd., Lawrenceville. Visitation will be from 9 to 11 a.m. in the church’s daily chapel. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in the main church at 11. Burial will be private.
Memorial donations may be made to Wake Forest University School of Law at https://law.wfu.edu/alumni/giving/, St. Ann Parish at https://churchofsaintann.net/ or the Diocese of Trenton’s Annual Catholic Appeal at https://dioceseoftrenton.org/catholicappeal.