Harry Talbott Hilliard ’45

TOBY HILLIARD died July 22, 1993, at his home in Healdsburg, Calif., after a courageous struggle against a malignant brain tumor.

Toby prepared at Shady Side School and St. Paul's. He roomed with John Jessup in Foulke and later with Bob Edwards. Toby was a noted athlete St. Paul's and continued to participate in athletics at Princeton, where he played freshmen and varsity football and hockey. He was a member of Ivy Club.

In WWII, he served in the navy as commander of a P.T. boat. He survived a kamikaze hit, but suffered severe burns to his hands and face.

In 1946, Toby returned to Princeton, rooming in Blair, again with Bob Edwards and John Jessup, joined by Fig Coleman, Paul Funkhouser, and Chuck Schaff. He graduated in 1947.

Toby then went to Midland, Tex., and began a long career in the oil business. With John Ashmun, he established Ashmun, Hilliard, an oil and gas partnership. In 1970, he moved to Woodside, Calif., and cofounded the Oakland Clippers, the first professional soccer team in Northern California. He formed the Hilliard Oil and Gas Co., which he later sold to Tidewater Oil Co.

In 1982, he moved to Healdsburg, where he established the Chalk Hill Ranch Vineyard and Equestrian Center. In 1992, 19 members of'45 and their wives gathered there for a minireunion. Toby participated from a wheelchair, enjoying every minute.

Toby is survived by his widow, Willi Martin; six children; three grandchildren; two sisters; and a brother, Tom '43. He leaves many close friends, including numerous members of the class, in behalf of whom we extend sympathy to the family.

The Class of 1945