Maurice “Mo” B. Hill, Jr. graduated from Lakewood High School, Lakewood, New Jersey in June 1965. He received six varsity letters- 3 in football, 2 in baseball and 1 in wrestling and was selected to the National Honor Society in his senior year. Mo was a starting tackle on the Lakewood 1964 undefeated Shore Conference Class B South Championship team. The 1964 team was selected as the Ocean County Sun County football team of the year. Mo attended Rutgers, the State University, New Brunswick, New Jersey and received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biological Sciences in June 1969. While at Rutgers he was a member of the Rutgers football team for 4 years and played rugby for 3 years. Mo was elected vice president of his fraternity, Delta Kappa Epsilon his senior year. He entered the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) in September of 1969 and served on the student government for 4 years. He volunteered for the Naval Reserve Dental 1925 Program as an Ensign in May 1970. He attended Officer Indoctrination School at the Naval Education and Training Center, Newport, Rhode Island in June 1972 and was an honor graduate. Upon graduation from UMDNJ with honors in December 1972, he was assigned to Naval Dental Clinic, Naval Education and Training Command, Newport Rhode Island as an Assistant Dental Officer. In May 1974, he was transferred to Branch Dental Clinic, Naval Air Station, Lakehurst, New Jersey.
After his release from active duty in February 1975 he affiliated with the Naval Reserve where he served with numerous units in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He was activated for Operational Desert Storm in January 1991 and assigned to Naval Hospital, Philadelphia where he was actively involved in the Veterans Administration-Department of Defense Hospital Contingency Plan. He was released from active duty in March 1991. In October 1992 he was selected as Commanding Officer, 14th Dental Company (DENCO), 4th Dental Battalion (DENBN), 4th Force Service Support Group) FSSG), Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES), Ft. Dix, NJ. Mo was assigned as Commanding Officer, 4th DENBN, 4th FSSG, MARFORRES, Atlanta, GA in September 1995. He also served as Staff Dental Officer, Navy Reserve Region 4, Ft. Dix, NJ and Navy Reserve Region 16, Minneapolis, MN. On 1 February 2000 he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral (Lower Half) and assigned as Fleet Dental Officer, US Pacific Fleet with additional duty MARFORRES Force Dental Officer. On 1 November 2001 he was promoted to the grade of Rear Admiral (Upper Half) and was assigned as Deputy Director of the Dental Corps, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery and Force Dental Officer, Commander Naval Reserve Force. He retired on 1 February 2005 after almost 35 years of naval service. His military awards include: the Legion of Merit (with gold star in lieu of second award), the Meritorious Service Medal (with gold star in lieu of second award), the Navy Commendation Medal (with gold star in lieu of second award), the Fleet Marine Force Ribbon, the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, the National Defense Medal (with 2 bronze stars), Global War on Terrorism Medal, the Arctic Service Ribbon, the Naval Reserve Service Medal (with silver hourglass and mobilization “M”), and the Rifle (Sharpshooter) and Pistol (Marksman) Qualification Ribbons.
He is a Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry, the American College of Dentists, the International College of Dentists, and the Academy of Dentistry International and was elected to honorary membership in Omicron Kappa Upsilon, the national dental honor society. He is a member of the American Dental Association, the New Jersey Dental Society, the Monmouth-Ocean Dental Society and the Brick Lions Club where he served as Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President and President. He is a life member of the Navy League, Naval Reserve Association, the Naval Institute and the Lakewood Blackhawks Civic Organization. In 2001 he was elected to the Lakewood High School Alumni Hall of Fame. He is an active member of Saint Luke’s Roman Catholic Church, Toms River, New Jersey where he serves as a Eucharistic Minister at Mass and for the home-bound. In 2003 he was elected as a Councilman representing Ward 3, Toms River, NJ the seventh largest town in New Jersey and re-elected in 2005 and again in 2009. In May 2004 he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the New Jersey Dental School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He was only the 4th dentist in the history of the school to receive this prestigious award. In 2011 he was elected as Councilman-at-Large and re-elected to a second term in 2015. He was elected Mayor of Toms River in November 2019. Mayor Hill served on the Board of Trustees at Community Medical Center, Barnabas Robert Wood Johnson Medical System from 2014- 2019. He currently serves as a Commissioner on the South Jersey Transportation Authority and serves as a member of the Ocean County Board of Health.
Mo has lived in Toms River for over 40 years. He maintained a general dentistry practice in Brick, New Jersey for 41 years before retiring in 2017. He is married to Roseann Kerrigan from Jersey City, NJ. They have 3 adult daughters, Shannon, Megan and Ryan and three grandsons, Alexander, Christopher, and Grayson and 3 granddaughters Alayna, Kaitlyn and Madelynn.