Edward Francis Hiltz obituary

Edward Francis Hiltz Obituary

Elizabeth, California, United States

October 25, 1925 - January 22, 2016

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Edward Francis Hiltz obituary

Edward Francis Hiltz Obituary

Oct 25, 1925 - Jan 22, 2016

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October 25, 1925 - September 21, 2016 Edward ("Ed") Francis Hiltz passed away on September 21, 2016, at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica. Ed was born on October 25, 1925, in Salem, Ohio, to Margaret and Edward F. Hiltz Sr., and grew up in Norwalk, Ohio. In high school he and his brother John rented property on East Main Street where they kept dairy cows they milked each morning before class. From the proceeds of the milk sold, Ed squirreled away enough money to fund his college education. He attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, and graduated in 1948 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. Ed caught the travel bug early. During summers in college he hitchhiked, explored, and worked in the American West with his siblings, Peggy, Barbara, Jane, and John. One memorable summer included a stint as bellhop at Tahoe Tavern in North Tahoe. A pivotal life experience was traveling around the world for twenty months with his brother John in the early 1950s. They spent 15 months in Europe, beginning in Paris, France, where their older sister Jane was studying French. With her assistance they arranged passage on a Norwegian freighter to continue their journey with ports of call that included North Africa and Japan. A highpoint was a summer spent in the remote alpine village of Rhêmes-Notre-Dame located in the Valle d'Aosta of northwestern Italy. Ed worked as a mechanical engineer for Schlage Lock in San Francisco and McDonnell Douglas, the aerospace manufacturer, in Los Angeles. In LA he met his future wife, Terry Sigo, at a Purdue alumni party. They married in 1956 and had five daughters. Summers often found the family loaded up in the station wagon and motoring to the Midwest to visit relatives via national parks and roadside attractions. Later in life Ed and Terry especially enjoyed the challenges of independent travel in China and India. Ed loved the beach and body surfing, basketball, and hiking. He was rarely without his signature floppy white tennis hat, the memory of which will always bring a smile to those who knew him. Ed was preceded in death by Terry, his wife of 60 years, and is survived by his sister Stephanie Crimps and brother-in-law Edward Maillet; his five daughters, Yvonne Stuart (Bob), Lisa Bukaty (Ray), Angie Hiltz (Tim Ball), Jackie Hiltz (Todd Gehrke), and Jane Hiltz; grandchildren, Robert, John, Andrew, and Elizabeth Stuart, and Katharine, Maddi, and Buck Bukaty; and many nieces and nephews and their children. The family is grateful to the excellent staff of the Geriatrics Unit at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica whose kindness and competence are unsurpassed. A funeral Mass for Ed and Terry will be celebrated on October 1 at 10 AM at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church, 11967 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA.
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