Obituary of Harold Lawrence Hillesland

Harold, 80 years old, passed away at his Yelm home, surrounded by family. He was born on September 17, 1933, to Anton and Alma (Hoff) Hillesland in Taylors Falls, Minnesota. When Harold was a child, the family moved to Washington. He graduated from Yelm High School in 1951 and from Pacific Lutheran College with a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemistry in 1955. In July 1954, Harold married his high school sweetheart and love of his life, Jeanne Hull, and together they raised six children. Harold worked for Boeing Corporation from 1955 to 1959. From 1959 to his retirement, Harold worked for Philco/Ford Aerospace/Space Systems Loral. He was a member of the Society for the Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering and a member of Bethany Lutheran Church. Harold was a wonderful husband and a great father. He was a prominent materials scientist, who worked on weather and communication satellites. The antennas his lab built went to the moon, Mars, and beyond, transmitting beautiful images and scientific information back to Earth. He was in the forefront of the materials field, active in professional societies and always willing to share his knowledge with other scientists. In addition, he used his materials expertise to help construct a race car for Ford, the Mustang GTP. The Mustang GTP experience was a highlight for him because he was always interested in cars, owning not just a T-Bird and a Mustang, but odd cars, such as the German DKW (he had not just one, but two), several Triumphs (in one Triumph he replaced the engine with a Ford engine), a Lotus Cortina, a Corvair van, and many more. When the engine failed on the Corvair, he “dropped in” a big bore Chevy V8 engine, which he had to engineer to run backwards because the engine was in the Corvair’s back, not the front. His idea of a fun weekend morning was to go to a wrecking yard or swap meet and pull parts off of cars. He used to race sports cars with his brother-in-law, Glenn. Harold was also always generous with his time helping others with their cars. Neighbors, friends, and even his children’s friends from college would come over and get the benefit of his expert knowledge and extensive toolset. He was interested in learning everything. Every time a community college catalog came out, he’d scan it for classes he might want to take—perhaps welding, or some other subject. He went through ground school. (He would have liked to become a pilot.) He loved all airplanes—full scale and model. He liked to go down to the sky sailing airport in Fremont and watch the planes take off and land. He enjoyed driving down to the restaurant at the Aberdeen airport with Jeanne and dining with a view of the runway. He loved model airplanes as well, belonging to a local club that owned its own airfield for many years. His model planes flew far before sailing to ground—so far that running to retrieve them was quite a task, as his kids can attest. He was endlessly inventive. If a tool didn’t exist that did what he wanted to do, he would create it. He was always repurposing parts from one thing to clever use for something else. In the Fremont house, he fashioned the rim from a ten-speed bicycle into a revolving pot and pan hanger for Jeanne’s kitchen. Two tempered glass windows from a van made a nice glass fireplace screen. His sense of humor was legendary. He loved jokes of all kinds. When his kids were little, every April fool’s morning, he’d try to trick them before they were fully aware of the date, even with a joke as simple as “Look at the big red bird!” He delighted in disguising birthday and Christmas gifts—wrapping jewelry in large boxes or trying to make clothes look like non-clothes shaped items. He once pretended to give Jeanne a new tire for her birthday before presenting her with her real gift. He was a faithful member of his church, enjoying the sermons, the coffee hour fellowship, and the music. Music was a big part of his life. He played the trombone (playing in groups in high school with his brother David and his brother-in-law, Glenn). He also was a fine singer, sight-reading the bass parts to hymns in church. He wanted all of his children to learn to play instruments and appreciate music. He was a wonderful father, teaching his children what he knew and always doing things for them. He hated the snow but took his children to the mountains in the winter so they could play in it. He disliked the beach, but took the family there often, sitting in the back of the camper and gazing at the ocean while Jeanne took the kids onto the sand. He loved wild places—Mount Baker, Calaveras Big Trees, Big Basin. And, when it came time to retire, he chose a place with a spectacular view of Mount Rainier. He loved to look at the Mountain and the valley, and to take photos of the changing light on the snowy peak. He wanted to maintain the pristine nature around him and worked in his community to preserve it. His generosity, endless curiosity, inventiveness, and love of life will be greatly missed. Harold is survived by his wife of 59 years, Jeanne Hillesland, three sons: Eric Hillesland (Elaine) of Mendocino, CA; Arne Hillesland of San Francisco, CA; and Keith Hillesland (Richard Taylan) of Fremont, CA; three daughters: Janet Hicks (Ross) of Murray, KY; Bonnie Hopkins of McKenna, WA; and Ann Hillesland (Russ Wyllie) of Mountain View, CA; a brother, David Hillesland (Linnea) of Pasco, WA; and five grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Carl Bjarne Hillesland and Roald Hillesland. The family wishes that any memorial donations to be made to Bethany Lutheran Church or the American Diabetes Association. Please leave memories of Harold or condolences for his family in the Guestbook below.