Ralph W. Hilborn Jr.

Ralph W. Hilborn Jr., 79, of Maidencreek Township, passed away on Friday, December 13, 2024 at Penn State Health, Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA.

Born May 1, 1945 in Phoenixville, Ralph was the son of the late Julia (Pete) and Ralph W. Hilborn Sr. He and his wife of 38 years, Katherine P. (Provino) Hilborn, were married in the Chapel at West Point, on July 20, 1986.

Ralph was a 1963 graduate of Spring Ford High School. Following high school, Ralph attended Penn State briefly. He withdrew from college and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1964.

Ralph served his country honorably and faithfully in the United States Marine Corps from 1964 through his tour in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969. While in Vietnam, the helicopter Ralph was crewchief of was shot down and he was wounded, resulting in Ralph being awarded the Purple Heart.

After his US Marine Corps service, Ralph returned home to Royersford and returned to college. He started at Montgomery County Community College and then went on to Kutztown University where he earned his Bachelor's of Science degree in Secondary Education in Sociology and Criminology. While at Kutztown University, Ralph also lettered in football at the age of 28.

During college, Ralph worked nights and weekends as a patrolman with the Royersford Police Department. In 1974, after graduating from college, he became a Montgomery County Detective, a polygraph examiner and the supervisor of the Montgomery County White Collar Crime Unit.

In 1978, Ralph entered training at Quantico, Virginia, as a new special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Following graduation, Ralph was assigned to the Albany, New York, field office. From Albany, Ralph was re-assigned to the New York City field office where he worked on the Organized Crime Unit. Following his assignment in New York City, Ralph worked in the Philadelphia field office where he was assigned as the Berks County Resident Agent. While in the FBI, Ralph worked as a firearms instructor, where he taught firearms to new agents, and as a police instructor at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

Mandatory retirement from the FBI came 11 years later. Ralph went on to spend 15 years as an adjunct professor at Reading Area Community College, where he taught sociology, criminology, and police science.

Ralph was a member of the Spring Ford Lodge #553, Free and Accepted Masons, an active retired member of the Berks County Chiefs of Police Association, a member of the Royersford Post 6331, Veterans of Foreign Wars, a member of the FBI Post 56, the American Legion, a Life Member of Vietnam Veterans of America, Berks County Chapter #131, a Life Member of the Purple Heart Association and a member of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Fleetwood. He truly loved hunting, fishing and shooting in Potter County.

Surviving in addition to his wife, Kathy, are his children, Dr. Debra L. Hilborn-Davis, wife of Dr. Robert M. Davis, Brooklyn, NY, Ralph W. Hilborn III, husband of Adrianna M. (DiMartino) Hilborn, Perkasie, Robert A. Hilborn II, husband of Paula M. (Pisani) Hilborn, Glenolden, PA, Eric R. Hilborn, husband of Holly C. (Filak) Hilborn, Highlands Ranch, CO, and Stephen A. Hilborn, husband of Anna M. (Conti) Hilborn, Columbus, OH. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Isadora, Bradley, Samuel, Henry, John, James, Madison, Vincenza, and Luciano, his brother, Robert A. Hilborn, husband of Helen E. (McGovern), Hilborn, Moscow, PA, and by his brother-in-law, Kenneth Whitman, Pottstown.

Along with his parents, Ralph was preceded in death by his sister, Judith L. Whitman.

Funeral Services for Ralph will be held on Saturday, December 21, 2024 at 11:00 am at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 117 E. Arch St, Fleetwood, PA. Burial with Military Honors will take place privately at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, Newtown, PA.

Viewings for Ralph will be held on Friday evening, December 20, 2024, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Walbert Funeral Home & Crematory, 14390 Kutztown Road, Fleetwood, PA and again on Saturday, December 21, 2024 from 10:00 am to 11:00 am at the church.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Ralph's memory to the St. Jude’s Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude’s Place, Memphis, TN 38105, or to the Shriners Hospital for Children, 3551 N. Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19140.

Walbert Funeral Home & Crematory, Fleetwood, is thankful for Ralph's service to our country and our community. We are honored to be caring for our friend, Ralph, and his family at this difficult time. Messages of comfort and sympathy may be offered to his family at www.WalbertFuneralHome.com.