Holbrook NYPD officer Karen Hill dies after 10-year 9/11 cancer battle

She built her life on sacrifice and was a fighter to the end. Now, Karen Hill’s family is fighting to hold on to the home and legacy she worked so hard to build.

A retired NYPD officer who word the blue for 16 years, Hill died last month after a 10-year battle with 9/11-related breast cancer. She was 58 years old.

Her story, as shared by her family, is one of perseverance at nearly every turn.

She lost her father at 16 and grew up amid hardship, becoming a mother herself at 17. By 21, she was caring for a young daughter battling leukemia.

Hill pressed forward, her family said, working multiple jobs, pursuing higher education, becoming a foster parent and even adopting her younger sister.

She was studying at Queens College and on track to become a registered nurse when she received what her family described as a lifelong dream: a call from the NYPD.

Her decade and a half with the department included assignments in the 103rd and 111th precincts. She retired in 2017 following her cancer diagnosis.

For the next decade, Hill battled a cancer that eventually spread throughout her body, including to her brain. She died peacefully at home on March 11 while under hospice care and surrounded by family.

“Instead of letting life break her, our mother used every hardship as fuel,” Hill’s daughter Quadina Hill wrote on a GoFundMe page created in her memory.

Beyond the uniform, Hill was deeply rooted in her faith and family. A member of True North Community Church, she found joy in travel, home projects and time spent with her family.

Quadina Hill remembers her mom as a constant source of strength, humor and encouragement.

Hill is survived by Quadina, as well as a second daughter, Sabrina Levy; her brother, Keith Hill; and her sister, Kimberly Hill.

Hill’s daughters last week launched an online fundraiser to help cover mounting expenses, including a $3,533 monthly mortgage and basic household costs. As of this Monday afterboon, the campaign has received two donations totaling $150.

“This home is not just a place to live,” Quadina Hill wrote. “It is where our mother built our lives… and where we are trying to hold on to a piece of her while navigating this unimaginable loss.”

Services for Hill were held March 18 at Moloney’s Holbrook Funeral Home and the Mother Teresa Tribute Center in Ronkonkoma.

“Our mother dedicated her life to helping others—even when it cost her everything,” Quadina Hill wrote. “Now, we are humbly asking for help.”

_{Top: Retired NYPD Officer Karen Hill in uniform and with her two daughters (Facebook and courtesy of GoFundMe).}