Harold Anthony Hyde

1923 - 2020

Harold Anthony Hyde obituary, 1923-2020, Resident Of Corralitos, CA

Harold Hyde Obituary

Harold Anthony (Hal) Hyde of Watsonville died of natural causes on October 12, 2020. Hal was a fifth-generation descendant of early settlers in Santa Cruz County, with direct ties to Anthony, Bennett, Bliss and Treat families. He was the son of Harold A. Hyde, Sr. and Fannie Fern Kilburn Hyde.

Harold was born in Watsonville on May 5, 1923. His father was tragically killed in a car accident when Harold was three years old. His mother never remarried, and Harold grew up an only child. He went to Mintie White School kindergarten in Watsonville and then moved with his mother to Berkeley. As a youth, he was an Eagle Scout, skied at Badger Pass, and loved visiting the local Cal campus. He graduated from University High in Oakland.

Hal was a decorated World War II veteran, a member of the Greatest Generation. He was a freshman in 1941 at the University of California, Berkeley when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Subsequently, he joined the U.S. Army through the Army Enlisted Reserve Corps. In 1945, Hyde saw combat as a Second Lieutenant in Patton's Third Army as it marched through France and Germany and into Austria. Following the war, he served in the Pacific in the Philippines where he helped decommission the Philippine Scouts. He continued his military service in the U.S. Army Reserves, retiring in 1983 with the rank of Brigadier General.

After the war and his Philippines assignment, Hyde returned to California in 1947, where he completed his UC Berkeley degree. He then attended Harvard Business School where he received his MBA in 1949. He married his wife Persis (Perky) Horner of San Francisco in 1948. The new family lived briefly in Berkeley until moving to Watsonville in 1951 when Hal joined Ford's Department Store, a business co-founded by Hal's maternal grandfather. He and Perky raised their four children in Corralitos. Perky died in 2001. Hal married Dorothy (Dottie) Puckett of Corralitos in 2002.

While he began as a businessman, community service was his hallmark, especially around education. He was a founding trustee of Cabrillo College and provided guidance for its creation and success. He served on a committee to attract the University of California to Santa Cruz, and then became the inaugural UCSC Vice Chancellor of Business and Finance where he directed physical development of that great institution. He was a long-time supporter of local scholarship programs, including MAIA Foundation and Cabrillo College CAP program.

In the area of culture and the arts, Hyde was co-founder of the Arts Council of Santa Cruz County and helped design the Henry J. Mello Center for the Performing Arts in Watsonville.

In the community, Hyde was an active member of Watsonville First United Methodist Church, enthusiastic 73-year member of Watsonville Rotary Club, a co-founder of the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, a leader of a 200-unit non-profit low-income housing development, and a champion for Watsonville following the 1989 earthquake, among other things. While active and leading, he always acknowledged the combined efforts of many to improve the places we call home.

Hal prioritized family activities and outings despite a busy schedule. He took great interest and pride in the successes of his children and grandchildren.

Hal was forever loyal to the University of California, Berkeley. "GO BEARS!" He attended many Cal football games and reunions for classes of the War Years, and made yearly treks to Camp Blue at the Lair of the Golden Bear with his wife Dottie.

With maps in hand, Hyde was a lifetime enthusiastic traveler, visiting all continents but Antarctica, and encouraging his children to travel widely to understand the bigger world. He was long active in the Bohemian Club of San Francisco.

To the end, Hal was gregarious and energized by social interactions. He had an uncanny memory of people, places, and dates. He showed interest in everyone's story, often jotting notes in "his brains" that he carried in his pocket. He had an extraordinary ability to connect people of all ages, always with the sincere hope of assisting, mentoring, or solving an issue. Hal had high expectations for all those younger than he, and would often ask, "What are you doing for God and Country?" His good memory, sense of humor, and optimism for life continued through his last days.

Hal Hyde was predeceased by his wife Persis (Perky) Horner Hyde, 1924-2001. He is survived by his wife Dorothy (Dottie) Puckett Hyde; two daughters, Marilyn Hyde of Watsonville and Christine Hyde of Hollister; a son, Harold Anthony (Tony) Hyde of Novato; a son and daughter-in-law, Douglas and Nancy Hyde of Westwood, Massachusetts, and Hal's three grandchildren Carrie, Nathan, and Sara. He also leaves a step-daughter, Nathell Dian, and her husband, Harry Hajian.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Cabrillo College Foundation CAP Scholarship Program, foundation.cabrillo.edu; Watsonville First United Methodist Church Endowment Fund, watsonville1stumc.org; the UC Santa Cruz Foundation, foundation.ucsc.edu; or a favorite charity.

Private inurnment will take place at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery in Santa Nella, CA.

A virtual celebration of life will be held later at a date to be announced.

(Photo credit UC Santa Cruz)

Published by Watsonville Pajaronian from Oct. 21 to Nov. 7, 2020.
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RIP❤ Thank you for bringing our families together ❤

Elisabeth Yngvesson

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November 1, 2020

Thank you for everything Harold

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November 1, 2020

R I P❤ Thank you for bringing our families together ❤

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November 1, 2020

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