John Meier Hilpert

John and I met 10 years ago by a simple fluke of fate. I was walking at the marina in July 1999 and as I passed a bench where an older gentleman was sitting we both said hello. We got to talking and made a plan to meet there again the following week. We began a long friendship of having lunch together about once a month. I would pick him up at Wesley Homes and we would pick a lunch spot. Then later go for a drive; usually ending up at the marina to watch the seagulls and ships go by.
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Doc Hilpert, “Daddy John,” left a lifelong impression on all that lived in his dormitory. I had the good fortune to live in his dormitory for 3 year of my 5 years at the U. The first year with Doc came about because of my failure to insure on campus housing the preceding spring, being over 21 years of age in a university awash in new students (cherubs?), which necessitated housing at the Fort Wainwright Civilian Bachelor Quarters (CBQ) in the fall of 1961. This was my first exposure to Doc...

Dr. John Hilpert was one of UAF's finest. He took genuine interest in his students and many of them have him to thank for their professional successes. He was a favorite of the Registrar's Office staff as well. He visited with us regularly even when he had no official business. After one of his trips, he brought us a one-of-a-kind hand made tapestry from South America. It was treasured by the staff not only because of its beauty but because it was a gift from Dr. Hilpert. He will long be...

Dr. Hilpert was the founder of Engineering Management Programs at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the University of Alaska Anchorage. The University of Alaska hired him in 1959 and he began teaching in Fairbanks. In 1962 he began commuting and offering courses in Anchorage. He moved to Anchorage in the 1970’s.

John Hilpert gave me excellent advice about my engineering education in Anchorage, where I took graduate classes at UAA in the late 70’s. And, after I moved to...

My dad, Chuck Behlke, who worked with John, passed away a few years ago. Dad always had good things to say about "Hilpert." I remember Dr. Hilpert as a nice man who always took the time to say hi to Behlke's kid. I'm very impressed with his full and accomplished life and grateful he chose to work in Alaska.

I have lost a true friend of half a century. I send my condolences to his family and to his many other friends. May God rest his soul and grant him eternal peace.

I was glad to inadvertanly see Dr. John Hilpert's obituary in the Seattle Times, because I would not have otherwise known of his status--the last I had known, he was living in Ketchican; however, I was chagrined to realize that he had been living right here in the Seattle area for a number of years, when I would have enjoyed very much meeting with him and renwewing a very important friendship and tutelage.
John Hilpert was the primary professor for a small group of us earning a M.S. in...

Joyce and I will always remember John from our time of arrival here in Anchorage in 1982. He was a valued and respected colleague. It was an honor to have known him.

“Daddy John”

Oh my gosh, I just received word, from an old college buddy, of the passing of Dr. Hilpert. Perhaps you may wonder where the “Daddy” reference comes from.

I first met Dr. Hilpert during the summer of 1960, at the time I was a commercial bush pilot for a small airline in central Alaska, John was one of my passengers on a scheduled mail run in the Wrangell Mts. He was on some sort of research project for the university. He rode up front with me...