Annie Martha Spell Hills, widow of John Edward Hills, passed away peacefully with her family by her side on Saturday, October 15, 2022 in Charleston, SC.  She was 103.

Annie Martha was born on September 5, 1919 to Martha Hucks Spell and Paul Eldred Spell.  She was educated in the public schools of Colleton County and was a graduate of Columbia College with a degree in piano performance.  She taught private piano lessons in the Batesburg-Leesville schools for two years and then returned to teach for a short time at Columbia College before moving to California where John was stationed in the Army Air Force.

After World War II, Annie Martha and John settled in Columbia where they were both active in all things musical.  She was the coach accompanist for the Columbia Choral Society with Carl Bamburger and Guthrie Darr and was the first coach accompanist for the South Carolina Opera Workshop, the group organized by the Afternoon Music Club for the express purpose of giving young South Carolina singers an opportunity to perform opera in their home state.  John Richards McCrae was the director.  She was an active member of the Afternoon Music Club serving as officer as well as performer.  She and John were both active members of the Evening Music Club as well.

Annie Martha Served as choir director and organist at several Columbia churches including Shandon United Methodist Church, Main Street Methodist and Centennial A.R.P. Church.  She and John were charter members of Trenholm Road United Methodist where she organized the first choir.

After John's retirement, they moved to Sparkleberry, a home they built on family property near Smoaks, South Carolina, and during their fourteen years there Annie Martha directed the music at Bethel Presbyterian Church in Walterboro.  She and John also assisted in the Organization of the Colleton County Choral Society in order that local singers could have the experience of singing the Messiah at Christmas.

In 1992 Annie Martha and John moved to the Methodist Oaks, a retirement home of the United Methodist Church in Orangeburg, South Carolina.  Annie Martha directed the choir there for many years and also organized the "sing-a-longs" for the residents in the Medical Center and assisted living areas.  Until John's death in 2002, they presented a monthly program of light music for the residents.

Annie Martha was an honorary member of Delta Kappa Gamma, the International Teachers Organization, and in 2006 was awarded the Order of The Palmetto by Governor Mark Sanford for musical activities in the state.

Annie Martha and John were the parents of one daughter, their beloved Moffie, who grew up to be The Reverend Martha Anne Andrews.  She and her two-year-old son, John Spell Andrews, were killed in a tragic accident in 1984 on Moffie's twenty-eighth birthday.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, October 29, 2022 at 12:00 P.M. at Greenpond United Methodist Church, 7257 Augusta Highway, Smoaks, SC  29481.  The family will greet visitors at 11:00 A.M. in the church sanctuary.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Madge Major Women's Circle, Trenholm Road Methodist Church, 3401 Trenholm Rd., Columbia, SC 29204.