Howard Louis Kilburn

ASHEBORO, NC - Howard Louis Kilburn, beloved husband of Margaret (Peggy) George Kilburn, died suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 69 on Wednesday, April 16, 2014 at Duke University Hospital in Durham, NC, with his wife by his side.

 

Born September 16, 1944 in Richmond, VA, Howard was the first of four children born to Howard Leo Kilburn and Anne Fonvielle McMillan Kilburn.

 

He grew up primarily in Aiken, SC, where his father was Deputy Manager for the Savannah River Plant of the Atomic Energy Commission. His father’s distinguished career with the AEC had previously taken the family to Hanford, WA and Oak Ridge, TN.

 

As a history undergraduate at the University of SouthCarolina in Columbia, Howard earned the Second Hampton in History Award for Excellence in Academics.

 

His graduate studies at USC gave him a far-reaching foundation in American Foreign Policy and American Diplomatic History. He worked extensively in Social/Popular History, Political History, and study of the massive impacts of the tremendous scientific and technological advances of the last century. While a graduate student, Howard taught Freshman survey courses in American and European history. He was also a pro bono tutor in U.S. history for local economically disadvantaged and racially persecuted children in Columbia, SC. His dissertation director had said of Howard: “The lucidity of his arguments was a testimony to his intellectual prowess and fluent prose style.” With an exceptional ability to absorb and retain an atypical amount of written material, Howard had unparalleled knowledge of major events, figures, chronologies, and historical relationships.

 

He generously chose to apply his research talents to help his wife Peggy launch and flourish her conference management business; working as a team, they were the founding conference directors for Macworld Expo, which they subsequently ran with resounding success for 14 years. Howard continued to research content for Information Technology conference programs, while also conducting independent research in history and technology trends.

 

Howard Kilburn was introspective, analytical, scholarly/erudite, self-directed, organized. He was gifted with an incisive wit, a devilishly delightful sense of humor, impeccable comic timing, and was an avid supporter of Asheboro’s RSVP Community Theatre. He was a survivor, constantly and valiantly fighting every obstacle presented to him – of which there were many.

 

He was preceded in death by his parents, and by his cherished youngest brother, PFC William Hunter Kilburn, USMC.

 

Howard Kilburn’s health and his vast intellectual potential were egregiously compromised by Asperger’s Syndrome.

 

In lieu of flowers, making a monetary gift to the Harvard Brain Bank would be appreciated: http://www.brainbank.mclean.org/

 

A memorial Mass for Howard will be held at 12:15pm Friday, April 25, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Asheboro, NC.

 

Another memorial Mass is being arranged at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Hewlett, NY - details to be posted soon.

 

Born: Sep 16, 1944

Died: Apr 16, 2014