Volunteers complete honey-do list for Pleasant Grove family

PLEASANT GROVE — When a police escort and a stretch limousine delivered Marty Hill and his family to their front door Wednesday, they were all smiling wide but struggling to hold back the tears.

"We've already gotten more than we could possibly expect," said Hill before entering his newly remodeled home. "I don't know what we could possibly do to repay."

After turning their home over to the folks at Heart 2 Home during the long weekend, Hill, his wife, Terry, and their two sons, Zaren (10) and Zander (7), had little idea what awaited them once they went inside.

"Oh my goodness, that's amazing," Hill said as he and his family entered the home for the first time. "You are awesome."

While the Hills had been tucked away at Sundance for a few days, Heart 2 Home directed an army of more than 100 friends, neighbors and strangers as they converged on the family's home, busily crossing items off a lengthy honey-do list.

"Overwhelming is certainly the word for it," Hill said. "It's just amazing how much they have done since Saturday. They're making me look bad."

A professor at Utah Valley University, Marty Hill was diagnosed with terminal melanoma two years ago and given just an 8 percent chance to live another year. Despite that, he continues to fight as cancer spreads to various parts of his body, and he has been accepted for experimental treatment through the National Institutes of Health.

Due to his cancer, though, Hill was no longer able to accomplish a long list of chores he said had been piling up for the past two years.

Tiffany Berg, co-founder of Heart 2 Home, said her nonprofit foundation learned about the Hills' difficulty from the Boy Scouts of America and the National Speakers Association in Utah, of which Hill is a member.

"(They) were so humble, they just said, 'We just have this honey-do list that we can't complete. Could you help us with that?' " Berg said.

The Hills originally thought they were in for a master-bedroom remodel and the completed list of chores. Instead, with a hearty "welcome home" from the volunteers, they were greeted to a full-fledged home makeover and cleaning.

"It's so nice to have it clean and done," Terry Hill said.

While some volunteers painted the entire interior of the house, others moved in new appliances, and another stenciled decorative sayings on the home's walls. A builder put up a new wall, a bathroom received some new tile and the piano in the front room benefited from a tuning.

In addition to all of the volunteer hours, a number of local businesses donated materials, food and expertise to the effort. Doughnuts came from Krispy Kreme, and Pinnacle Security provided a home security system.

Hill wondered if he was really sitting in his home.

"I'm just waiting," he said, "for someone to take us next door and say, 'Psych.' "

E-mail: jdavis@desnews.com