Karen Hill, retired NYPD officer from Holbrook, dies of 9/11-related cancer at 58

Some people like Karen Hill live to help others, which she did as a labor and delivery technician and NYPD officer.

"My mom had a laugh you could hear down the block. She loved life and had so much faith, but most of all, she truly cared about everyone," said Hill's daughter Quadina Hill, of Manhattan.

Hill died in her Holbrook home on March 11 after a 10-year battle with 9/11-related breast cancer. She was 58.

Karen Selena Hill was born in Brooklyn on Dec. 17, 1967. She later moved to Queens, where she adopted her sister while taking classes to become a foster parent.

"I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when I was 4 years old, and I remember her saying, 'We came in here together, and we're going to walk out together.' I'm now in remission, but her faith and strength and resilience saved me," Quadina said of her mother.

"Seeing so many different levels of care and the importance of everyone's role in the hospital, that was one of the motivating forces for her to become a nurse herself. Especially seeing Black nurses, she realized that this was possible for her," her daughter said.

Hill became a technician in the labor and delivery unit at Long Island Jewish Hospital in New Hyde Park while she was studying nursing. She was a few credits shy of finishing her degree when she received the call from the NYPD.

"She always wanted to be a police officer. A lot of it had to do with her own upbringing and interactions with law enforcement," her daughter said. "She wanted to be part of the solution not the problem."

"I was there for a lot of her monumental moments in life, and I don't know how she managed all those things and kept her sanity," Hill's daughter said.

'Like a sister'

Frank Lorelli, a retired NYPD detective, was Hill's best friend. The two met in 1994 when Hill was studying to become a nurse and "she was like a sister" to him, he said.

"Karen had a very big personality, and she was never one to suppress vocalizing her thoughts. She had no filter, and her sense of humor and laughter were contagious," said Lorelli, of Centereach. "Karen had the biggest heart and was one of the most generous, caring people, and the strongest woman I knew."

Hill was sworn into the NYPD in July 2001 and was pressed into service on Sept. 11, 2001, even though she didn't graduate from the police academy until March 27, 2002.

"She was only in the police academy for a couple of months, but her class was the first class to go into active duty before graduating," Hill's daughter said. "That was her induction into this. ... She was so proud to be a part of it."

Hill retired from the NYPD in April 2017. Throughout her tenure in the 103rd and 111th precincts, she received a number of accolades, including officer of the month and perfect attendance awards.

Sharolette Jenkins Kendall was Hill's close friend and former partner at the 103rd Precinct. She recalled Hill as "funny, loving and someone who would do just about anything to help friends and family in need."

"We worked together on the school team for a few years, then became partners for about a year on the midnight tour. She was one of my best partners that I've ever had," said Jenkins Kendall, of North Babylon.

Home renovations

Hill loved to cook, travel, garden, spend time with her two daughters, and enjoyed planning renovations to her Holbrook home, which she purchased in 2006. Of her illness, Lorelli said Hill "never let it prevent her from doing the things she loved."

"Even after enduring all the surgeries, invasive procedures, radiation sessions and medications, she took pride in her house and would constantly be upgrading and renovating. I think owning her own home was a huge source of pride and accomplishment for her," Lorelli said.

Hill earned her bachelor of science degree in 2024 from SUNY Empire State University while she was undergoing chemotherapy.

"She told me, 'I want to be buried in my uniform with pink lipstick and pink flowers and cremated,' and that's just what we did," Hill's daughter said.

In addition to her daughter Quadina, Hill is survived by her younger daughter, Sabrina Levy; brother, Keith; and sister, Kimberly. Funeral services took place on March 18 followed by a private cremation.