Obituary of Verlinde Van den Berge Hill Doubleday
Verlinde Van den Berge Hill Doubleday, loving wife, mother, sister, and grandmother, passed away surrounded by friends and family on August 28, 2022 after a brief but brave battle with metastatic lung cancer. She was 68.
Verlinde was born in Houston on July 27, 1954 to Jerauld Lollar Hill and Raymond Monroe Hill. She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, Raymond Monroe Hill, Jr.; and her sister, Ruth Jerauld Goodpasture.
She is survived by her loving husband of 37 years, Charles William Doubleday, M.D.; her daughter, Julia Van den Berge Randall and her husband, Kieran, of Mooloolah Valley, Queensland, Australia; her sons, George Marchant Doubleday and wife, Kalli, of Bastrop, Texas and Walker Hill Doubleday of Austin, Texas; three grandsons whom she adored, Hays Monroe Doubleday, Cline Jericho Doubleday, and Charlie Walker Randall. She is also survived by her Uncle John Lollar and his wife, Klinka, of Houston; and her brother, Benjamin Harvey Hill and his wife, Libby, of Los Alamos, New Mexico; her sisters-in-law Josephine Doubleday John and her husband, Philip, of Houston and Elizabeth Doubleday of Austin, Texas. She leaves behind numerous nieces, nephews and cousins whom she loved dearly.
Verlinde attended River Oaks Elementary School and Duchesne Academy in Houston prior to graduating from Oldfields School in Glencoe, Maryland. She then went on to Pitzer College in Claremont, California. She was presented at Allegro in 1974. Later she obtained her Master’s degree from Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.
She was a Texas woman to the core: fierce, stoic and strong-willed while remaining sweet as honey. Verlinde made life beautiful for those around her using her keen eye for design and her creative gifts. She loved painting with a special talent for Texas landscapes, gardening, interior design, cooking, and entertaining, all of which she did with great taste, ease, and grace. She had a beautiful smile and was full of kindness, charm and fun.
As a sixth-generation Texan, Verlinde was proud to serve as Chair of The Board of Trustees of the San Jacinto Museum and Battleground Association. She was a member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, National Colonial Dames of America, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church and was past President of the Garden Club of Houston.
She enjoyed golfing and Mah Jongg with her friends at the Houston Country Club. Verlinde had her first hole-in-one there just last year! She loved spending time with family and friends at the Doubleday farm near Schulenburg, Texas and the Hill ranch near Victoria, Texas.
A memorial service will be held at 2 o’clock in the afternoon on Friday, the 9th of September at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road in Houston. The Rev. Suse McBay, PhD, and Rev. Doug Richnow will officiate the service. For those unable to attend the service in-person, the service will be available for livestreaming at https://stmartinsepiscopal.org/funerals/. Immediately following, all are invited to a reception at the church in the Bagby Parish Hall.
There will be a private interment at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston at a later date. The family requests that donations in her name be directed to: San Jacinto Museum and Battleground Association, One Monument Circle, La Porte, Texas 77571-9585; or St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road, Houston, Texas 77056; or the charity of one’s choice.
Please feel free to share memories and words of comfort with the family, here, at josephjearthman.com.