Most of us never met Robert Hill Sr. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t touched our lives.

Hill, a Virginia State Trooper, died recently during a traffic stop. He was struck by another car along U.S. 58 in Southampton County.

This is one of those times that it could be said, without being trite, that he died doing what he loved. After all, he was in his 19th year on the job.

But Hill was more than a police officer. He also spent a great deal of his time working with underprivleged children in the Southampton County area.

In doing so he afforded those young men and women a chance to see that there are alternatives in life. There are roads, perhaps less traveled, but oftentimes leading to happiness and success.

He taught them how to believe in themselves and that they were important, even if they didn’t believe it themselves.

Hill could have spent his time wearing the uniform and serving his community in that capacity. But he chose to do more. And because of it, we, all of us, and especially those young lives he touched through his kindness, are all better off.

We salute Hill and the work he did, both on and off the highway.