Hildreth Frost Jr.

FROST, HILDRETH, JR. 1915 - 2003 The Honorable Hildreth Frost Jr., a prominent Colorado mining engineer, metallurgist and college professor, died in Denver on August 7 from complications of pneumonia. Hildreth was born in Denver on May 5, 1915, the son of Hildreth Frost, a Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek mining lawyer, and Bertha Marcum Frost. He was the grandson of Walter C. Frost, a mining and transportation pioneer in Leadville and Cripple Creek. He graduated from Colorado Springs High School and received the Engineer of Mines Degree from the Colorado School of Mines in 1939. Hildreth pursued a career in mining engineering and metallurgy. He operated the Hiawatha Gold Mine in Cripple Creek from 1939 to 1942, and worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1942 to 1945, on construction of Fort Carson, the Pueblo Army Depot, and the Pueblo Army Air Base. From 1945 to 1952, he was chief engineer for the Denver Equipment Company. During this time he supervised the construction and initial operation of the mill at the Pride of the West Mine in Ouray, Colorado and consulted on mining and milling operations at Taxco, Mexico and in Peru. From 1952 to 1954, he consulted in mining engineering and mineral processing, and patented a new method for froth flotation and concentration of suphide ores. From 1953 to 1969, he was a Professor of Metallurgy at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. In 1969, he was appointed by President Nixon to be the Chief Asayer of the United States Mint in Denver, Colorado, where he served until retirement in 1977. Professor Frost was active through much of his life in the Boy Scouts of America. He was an Eagle Scout and a Brotherhood member of the Order of the Arrow. He was the Regional Financial Chairman of the Denver Area Boy Scouts from 1946 to 1950, and he was Scoutmaster of Troops 78 and 253 in Denver from 1950 to 1970. He was a life long member of the Episcopal Church and served at various times as vestryman, warden, and treasurer. He was treasurer of Grace Episcopal Church Mission in Georgetown, Colorado from 1954-1990. He married Doris Elaine Bowen in Fort Worth, Texas on December 27, 1938 and they had four children: Robert Hildreth Frost, a Professor of Metallurgy at the Colorado School of Mines; Edmund Bowen Frost, an environmental lawyer in Washington, DC; Harold Jefferson Frost, a Professor of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College; and George Marcum Frost, a real estate investment and management professional. He was preceded in death by his son George and is survived by Doris Bowen Frost, his wife of 64 years; sons: Robert and his wife Katherine of Golden, CO; Edmund and his wife Molly of Washington, DC; and his son Harold of Etna, NH; Robert's children: Katherine Frost Webster, her husband Shawn Robert Webster and their son Jonathan Frederick Webster; Hildreth Robert Frost, his wife Jennifer Parker Frost and their son Daniel Parker Frost; Edmund's children: Julia Frost Nerbonne, her husband Brian Nerbonne and their son Lucas Frost Nerbonne; Elizabeth Everett Frost; Edmund Nicholas Frost and Luette Spitzer Frost; Harold's children: William Henderson-Frost and Josephine Henderson-Frost. Funeral service, Tuesday, August 12, 1 p.m., St. John's Episcopal Cathedral, 1313 Clarkson. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that gifts can be made to the Grace Episcopal Church of Georgetown Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 133, Georgetown, Colorado 80444.