Howard Wesley Hilfinger III

Howard W. (“Skip”) Hilfinger III, of Sylvania, Ohio, died on Wednesday, May 24, 2017, at the Ebeid Hospice Residence, surrounded by the love of his family and friends. 

Skip was born on March 19, 1931, in Toledo, Ohio, son of the late Howard W. (Jr.) and Mildred Hilfinger. After graduating from Libbey High School in 1949, he attended the University of Michigan where he met, and in 1952 married, the former Margaret Grein of Hersey, Michigan.  They were married for 52 years until her death in 2005.  Skip and Margaret were the proud and loving parents of six children and their spouses, and grandparents of fourteen grandchildren.  In 2006,  Skip  married  Barbara K. Cain. of Holland, Ohio. Together they cherished their collective ten children and spouses, twenty-eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, as well as their time together in Toledo and the Florida Keys.

Skip received both his B.B.A (summa cum laude) in 1953 and his M.B.A. in 1954 from the University of Michigan.  He remained an avid Michigan football fan throughout his life (Go Blue!), as well as a devoted Detroit Tigers fan.  At Michigan, in addition to meeting Margaret he became a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, and as a Freshman played golf on the U of M team and also participated in 19 intramural sports!  He remained active throughout most of his adult life, playing handball several times a week for 54 years, never letting separated shoulders and broken fingers discourage him. 

Following graduation from Michigan, Skip became employed at The Hilfinger Corporation, a family business where he worked until the late 1960s when the company was sold.  In 1970, he joined his longtime partner Jerry Friedman to run Supreme Bumpers, Inc., a successful chrome plater of OEM and aftermarket bumpers for more than 30 years.  Skip employed several of his sons and sons-in-law in the business.  He also served as the President and longtime Board member of the Bumper Recyclers Association of North America (BRANA), was a respected voice in the industry and attended many conventions with Margaret and, often, their children. 

Skip enjoyed spending time with family more than anything else, including many summers spent at Wolf Lake, Michigan.  Memorial Days, Fourth of Julys and Labor Days were his favorite times and he could always be found engineering the dock construction, raking the beach and generally outworking his sons until the setting summer sun and warm breezes brought on 5 pm and a vodka gimlet into focus, which he expertly mixed.   

Skip was very active for many years in various civic and charitable organizations in the Toledo area, serving on the Sylvania Township Recreational Association (STRA) which later became the Sylvania Area Recreation Coalition, and also Sylvania Community Services Center, for whom he served as President and Board member for many years and helped establish the Sylvania Senior Center. Together with Margaret, he also supported with his time and treasure the Ability Center of Greater Toledo, Lourdes College Auxiliary and Franciscan Center, Toledo Animal Shelter Auxiliary, Toledo Day Nursery,  Toledo Opera Guild and the Toledo Symphony.  He was also a longtime resident of the Sleepy Hollow subdivision where he served on the Board for many years. 

Skip and Margaret’s love of duplicate bridge provided decades of playing enjoyment and they parlayed that into a special travel group to wonderful destinations including Jamaica, London, Russia and Scandinavia as part of their “vacation group”.  

He later enjoyed visits to the Florida Keys with his wife Barbara, including fishing expeditions with his grandchildren where they often caught their limit which were promptly blackened and washed down by Skip with a Key West Ale.  

Skip was a devoted Christian.  He was baptized and confirmed, and was an active member at, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in downtown Toledo.  Later in life, he was active with his wife Barbara as a member of the McCord Road Christian Church.

Skip was preceded in death by his first wife Margaret; his parents Howard and Mildred; sister-in-law Winifred Hilfinger; and Uncle George Hilfinger. He is survived by his wife, Barbara; brother Ronald; Aunt Helen Hilfinger; brother and sister in law Dr. George and Anne Grein; daughters Kathleen Camp and Sara Jackson (Mark); and sons Kurt, James (Naomi), Steven (Cathy), and George Eric (Peggi).  Affectionately called “Grandpa Skip,”  he will be greatly missed by grandchildren Amanda, Laura, Emily, Samantha, Maggie, Steven, Andrew, Zachary, Jennifer, Michael, Matthew, Anna, Benjamin, Rachel, all of his grandchildren and great grandchildren with Barbara and their many nieces and nephews.  Skip’s extended family included God-daughter Meghan Nagy and Meghan’s parents, Richard and Shelley Jackson of Portage, Michigan, and God-daughter Deborah Malewitz.

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the staff at the Sylvania Dialysis Center, Flower Hospital and the Ebeid Hospice Residence for their loving care of Skip. The family would like to extend a special thank you to our brother Kurt for his devotion and support of our Father.  You were a beacon in his life during his last years.

Skip’s family will receive friends at the Reeb Funeral Home on Thursday, June 1st , from 3-8 p.m. and at McCord Road Christian Church at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, June 2nd, followed by a service at 12:30.  A private interment will be held at a later date.  Those wishing to make a contribution in lieu of flowers are asked to consider the Sylvania Senior Center, the McCord Road Christian Church, the  Sylvania Dialysis Center or Ebeid Hospice Residence.

Skip’s devotion to his friends and family, his work ethic, love of sports, his “Skip-isms” and other warm qualities were a wonderful gift to all who knew him.  He will be missed.   Online condolences may be offered at reebfuneralhome.com