Paul D. Hibbert

Paul D Hibbert, passed away peacefully at the age of 90 in his Santa Fe home June 29, 2023.

He is survived by his daughter, Gillian, son Stephen, granddaughter Emily, son-in-law Phil, former wife Jean and his nieces and nephews Ann, Jan, Sue, Wendy, Brian and David and their families. He is predeceased by father Ralph Hibbert, mother Hazel, brother Ralph Jr, sister Barbara and brother-in-law Allen.

Born in Calgary, Alberta, Paul grew up in Mission and Revelstoke, BC.

He worked in mining, forestry and steel mill jobs to pay for university earning a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and Master of Structural Engineering at University of British Columbia.

He married Jean in 1960 and they welcomed daughter Gillian and son Stephen before moving to Ottawa in 1968, where Paul worked for Energy, Mines and Resources, Canada in various roles, including Project Manager, Chief of Technology Assessment and Supervisor of Scientific Systems. After retiring from the government in 1989, he worked for IDON Corporation as a Senior Engineer until his retirement in 1995.

During his working years, Paul was an avid sailor and windsurfer having many international sailing adventures, as well as spending years building his own 36 foot boat at his Parkwood Hills home. He famously survived to tell the harrowing midnight story of capsizing off the coast of Barbados after a cross Atlantic sailing race with his 3 other shipmates. As well as seafaring, he took to the skies learning to become an ultra light pilot and enjoyed many cross country road-trips around North America.

As a father, he taught his children skills like Morse code and how to tie nautical knots, while he imbued his philosophy of life along with his love of travel, thirst for knowledge and enjoyment of art and culture, encouraging them to be fearless in following their own unique dreams and adventures without barriers, dogma or restrictions. He absolutely adored being a grandpa "Gramps" to Emily, developing a wonderful bond and in recent years sharing a deep love of literature with each other.

After leaving Canada, Paul's new life began upon retirement in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1995 where he lived in an adobe home on 2 acres in New Mexico's high desert at the foot of the Sangre de Christo mountains. He spent much of his retirement woodworking, furniture building, carving, doing masonry projects and enjoying Santa Fe's culture, active social and arts scenes. He especially loved live jazz shows, even learning the trumpet himself. As well as attending book discussion club and swimming sessions, he spent time delivering for meals on wheels and tutored math at the local school. He hosted many guests over the years and loved sharing the unique Santa Fe lifestyle, natural beauty, art galleries, food and music with family and friends.

He adopted 4 dogs over these years, Keiper, Chico, Jesse and Snoopy and enjoyed taking them walking and hiking on local Eldorado Trails.

In recent years, he spent more time at home, focused on masonry projects, NYT crosswords, Hibbert family history, sharing humorous and interesting emails, while continuing to deepen his knowledge of art, politics, objectivism, zen practices, literature and the latest advances in technology.

Paul was a man who lived life on his own terms, an introvert's introvert as he referred to himself. Independent, intelligent, resilient, adventurous, introspective and creative; an artist, engineer, woodworker and carver, furniture and boat builder, inventor, navigator, sailor, writer, mason, investor. He was a kind and caring father, grandfather and uncle who will be greatly missed.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to
Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society or the American Heart Association.

Life is a balance of holding on and letting go." ~ Rumi