Clifford Hodgson Hilton

Our sweet, eternally curious “absent-minded professor,” Dr. Clifford Hodgson Hilton, age 74, died Friday, Jan. 6, 2017 at the George E. Whalen Veterans Home in Ogden, UT. Cliff was born in Ogden, UT on May 19, 1942 to Lalovi McMurrin and Mary Hodgson Hilton. He will be missed by a plethora of people who considered him an exceptional husband, stepfather, grandfather, big and little brother, uncle, cousin, colleague, trusted confidant, teacher and treasured friend. A loved one aptly described him as a brilliant man who “went places in his mind that most of us don’t go.” His pragmatic police officer father gave him a big dose of common sense and a razor sharp sense of humor; his strong-willed school teacher mother instilled in him both an abiding love of nature and an exuberant thirst for the finer things in life. Thanks to his doting Sister Mom, he learned to read very well before he arrived at Lorin Farr School and zealously embarked on his legendary academic and social exploits. In view of his later popularity as a heart throb to rival James Dean, he likely discovered girls while he was still at Central Junior High, if not sooner!

A track and field athlete and 1960 graduate of Ogden High School, Cliff was awarded a full scholarship to Kenyon College in Gambier, OH and earned his BA in English. He obtained an MA in English at Ohio State University and a PhD in psychology from George Washington University, teaching and conducting research while there. He served in the Navy from 1968 to 1978, always receiving “Exemplary” reviews. Lieutenant Hilton’s assignments included work as a writer at the Pentagon; research and clinical duties at Bethesda Naval Hospital; and performing similar roles while employed as an instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, where he helped to initiate required psychology classes for all cadets. Along the way he developed his artistic talent, wrote poetry, acted in plays, and read ancient literature, scientific journals, political tomes and whatever else caught his fancy. He also mastered the techniques of long distance hitchhiking during his college days.

He married his cerebral equal and philosophical soulmate, Marjorie King Hilton, in 1970. Theirs was a passionate and intellectually stimulating marriage until her passing in 2014. He inherited 5 stepchildren from Marjorie and developed strong bonds with each of them over the years. He and Marge were rarely happier anywhere else than when spending time with family and friends in many places doing all sorts of fascinating things. Their carefree excursions carried them everywhere from New York to Washington, DC, from Puerto Rico to the Oregon Coast or Yellowstone Park, with frequent stops in Utah at Bear Lake or the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City and points beyond. Following their move from Maryland in 1978, their preferred hangout and perpetual base of operations for the next 4 decades became the hillside property they acquired in Eden, UT, where Cliff painstakingly custom built 2 log homes. As anybody who ever visited that idyllic place quickly ascertained, Cliff and Marge loved their life in Ogden Valley!

In addition to his private clinical and forensic practice and lots of court work, Dr. Hilton’s career as a psychologist encompassed such positions as director at Renaissance Project (a group home for juvenile boys), an associate at Weber Mental Health, and an adjunct professor at Weber State University. He was also a consultant at Weber Basin Job Corps, Utah Division of Family Services, and Utah State Office of Rehabilitation. He was a superb writer and articulate speaker, a patron of the arts, and a lifelong advocate for civil rights and other worthwhile causes. He relished fly fishing, whitewater rafting, scuba diving, hiking and camping in the open spaces, adding titles to his library, and ceaselessly pursuing knowledge.

This heartfelt tribute sums up his essence:  “What’s more important, however, is the kind of person he was and what he meant to people. He was an excellent therapist and friend, partly because he could see right into the depths of your soul, see who you are, and communicate in a non-judgmental, compassionate and deeply insightful way. And sometimes getting away with humor! Anyone I knew who met him loved him. I loved my connection with him and his unconditional love.”

Besides his wife Marjorie, Dr. Hilton was preceded in death by his parents, brother Robert G. Hilton, sisters Janet Hult and Lou Jean “Judy” Moss, and stepson Andy Johnson. Among his survivors are: stepchildren Mark Johnson (wife: Nina Mende), Scott Johnson (wife: Douja Foudhaila), Susan Johnson (husband: Ted Grubb), and Jennie Caverley; as well as siblings Don K. “Joe” Hilton (wife: Pat), Joanne Brenner, Laurence M. Hilton (wife: Barbara), and Marney Zambrano (husband: Eloy); his grandchildren Ben Newman, Ines Johnson, Katie Grubb (husband: Mike Meyer), Sarah Caverley, Zach Caverley—and one great grandson on the way. He is also survived by 100+ Hilton nieces and nephews and many staunch friends and grateful patients who loved him.

We express appreciation to the doctors, nurses, therapists and support staff at both Legacy House and the Veterans Home for their diligence and professional attention to his needs while Cliff was in their care. No formal funeral service will be held, but family members and friends are encouraged to make their own private arrangements for gatherings in his honor to celebrate his life and exchange memories of good times shared by all involved.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the Kenyon College Scholarship Fund online at www.gift.kenyon.edu or by mail to the Office of Development, Kenyon College, 105 Chase Ave., Gambier, Ohio  43022.