Harold Hilbert 1935-2010

We received this sad note from Sean Hilbert:

 

The world lost a good man this weekend…Harold Hilbert, my dad, business partner, and best buddy succumbed to his short battle with cancer the morning of May 8th 2010. He was 74 years young.

It’s hard for me to believe that just a few short months ago I had a difficult time keeping up with the guy. He put in long days at Cobra; doing everything from working on machines, to designing and building race trailers, to ensuring that we had good relationships with all of our local suppliers. His passion, will, and energy at 70+ was simply incredible and will serve as inspiration to me and everyone else he worked with for the rest of our lives.

Of course, there were the races as well. He lived for heading to the track on the weekends and meeting up with the families and kids he loved so much. The attached picture epitomizes one of his favorite moments: At the start of each moto, he would go up and down the line, pat kids on the helmet, and wish them all good luck (it never mattered what color of bike they were riding). He also loved traveling to the big national events and keeping track of all the Cobra graduates as they made their way through their amateur careers.

He’ll be missed more than I have words for here.

A service will be held at the Holt United Methodist Church in Holt, Michigan Thursday May 13th at 3:00pm. Afterward, at 5:00pm, we will host an event celebrating his life at our family home. All are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, my dad asked that folks remember him by donating to the Michigan State University College of Engineering Scholarship Fund in his name. He was passionate about education, and this will help ensure that all kids who want an engineering education can earn one.

Regards,
Sean @ Cobra

 

 

Harold on the line in 2008