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'''Wiley Wilson Hilburn, Jr.''' (February 20, 1938 &ndash; January 16, 2014), was a [[journalist]] in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]],  [[Louisiana]], whose communications career began in the middle 1950s when he was a student at Ruston High School and then [[Louisiana Tech University]]. In 1968, at the age of thirty, Hilburn returned to Louisiana Tech to chair the Journalism Department and serve as director of the college news bureau. Even while instructing budding journalists for some four decades, he continued to write a popular weekly column carried by Gannett in both ''The Shreveport Times'' and ''The Monroe Nes-Star.'' On September 1, 2009, Hilburn retired from the university position after forty-one years.<ref name=latech>Bill Campbell, "Region's dean of journalism leaves editor's mark on generations, ''The Monroe News-Star,'' August 2, 2009.</ref>

'''Wiley Wilson Hilburn, Jr.''' (February 20, 1938 &ndash; January 16, 2014), was a [[journalist]] in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]],  [[Louisiana]], whose communications career began in the middle 1950s when he was a student at Ruston High School and then [[Louisiana Tech University]]. In 1968, at the age of thirty, Hilburn returned to Louisiana Tech to chair the Journalism Department and serve as director of the college news bureau. Even while instructing budding journalists for some four decades, he continued to write a popular weekly column carried by Gannett in both ''The Shreveport Times'' and ''The Monroe News-Star.'' On September 1, 2009, Hilburn retired from the university position after forty-one years.<ref name=latech>Bill Campbell, "Region's dean of journalism leaves editor's mark on generations, ''The Monroe News-Star,'' August 2, 2009.</ref>

==Background==​

==Background==​

In addition to his duties with the news bureau, Hilburn served on the Louisiana Tech Administrative Planning Council. From his work on the Tech Athletic Council, he remained a steadfast follower of the university sports teams.<ref name=hilburnhonors/>​

In addition to his duties with the news bureau, Hilburn served on the Louisiana Tech Administrative Planning Council. From his work on the Tech Athletic Council, he remained a steadfast follower of the university sports teams.<ref name=hilburnhonors/>​

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==Politics==​

==Politics==

A Democrat, Hilburn was an admirer of former [[Insurance commissioner|Louisiana Insurance Commissioner]] [[James H. "Jim" Brown]], who was forced from office in 2000 after multiple indictments but conviction only on one count for lying in an informal interview to an agent of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]. Early in 2005, Hilburn reviewed Brown's book ''Justice Denied'' in which the former commissioner, who also served as a state senator and as the Louisiana Secretary of State, defends his conduct in office and denies having given false statements to the FBI. In his column Hilburn recalled the 1978 primary election for Louisiana's 5th congressional district]] seat in which the one-term Democrat incumbent, [Thomas Jerald "Jerry" Huckaby, easily defeated Brown. Hilburn surprises readers; after praising Brown's public service, he reveals that he had voted for Huckaby in the race anyway.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thelisburnpress.com/BookReviewTimes.html|title=Book Speaks to Travesty of Justice|date=January 10, 2005|publisher=thelisburnpress.com|accessdate=June 16, 2013}}</ref>Hilburn was originally a more [[conservative]] Democrat who supported [[Richard M. Nixon]] and [[Barry Goldwater]] in the 1960 and 1964 presidential elections, respectively, but thereafter shifted ideological lines to become decades later an active backer of [[Barack H. Obama]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20131121/OPINION02/311210043/Wiley-Hilburn-Column-JFK-Guilt-grief-another-direction|title=Wiley Hilburn Column: JFK - Guilt, grief and another direction|date=November 22, 2013|publisher=''The Monroe News Star''|accessdate=November 22, 2013}}</ref>​

A Democrat, Hilburn was an admirer of former [[Insurance commissioner|Louisiana Insurance Commissioner]] [[James H. "Jim" Brown]], who was forced from office in 2000 after multiple indictments but conviction only on one count for lying in an informal interview to an agent of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]. Early in 2005, Hilburn reviewed Brown's book ''Justice Denied'' in which the former commissioner, who also served as a state senator and as the Louisiana Secretary of State, defends his conduct in office and denies having given false statements to the FBI. In his column Hilburn recalled the 1978 primary election for Louisiana's 5th congressional district]] seat in which the one-term Democrat incumbent, [Thomas Jerald "Jerry" Huckaby, easily defeated Brown. Hilburn surprises readers; after praising Brown's public service, he reveals that he had voted for Huckaby in the race anyway.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thelisburnpress.com/BookReviewTimes.html|title=Book Speaks to Travesty of Justice|date=January 10, 2005|publisher=thelisburnpress.com|accessdate=June 16, 2013}}</ref>Hilburn was originally a [[conservative]] Democrat who supported [[Richard M. Nixon]] in 1960 and [[Barry Goldwater]] in 1964, but thereafter shifted ideological lines to become decades later an active backer of [[Barack H. Obama]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20131121/OPINION02/311210043/Wiley-Hilburn-Column-JFK-Guilt-grief-another-direction|title=Wiley Hilburn Column: JFK - Guilt, grief and another direction|date=November 22, 2013|publisher=''The Monroe News Star''|accessdate=November 22, 2013}}</ref>​

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On November 19, 2007, Hilburn published a column in ''The Shreveport Times'' which purports that former Louisiana [[Governor]] [[Kathleen Blanco]] would be judged much kinder by history than the difficult circumstances which followed [[Hurricane Katrina]]. It was those problems that prompted Blanco , a Democrat who died in 2019, not to seek a second term in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 20, 2007. Victory instead went to Blanco's 2003 opponent, Republican [[Bobby Jindal]]. Wiley Hilburn attended a bipartisan reception for Blanco at the Squire Creek Country Club near his home in Choudrant in Lincoln Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071119/NEWS0804/711190316/1060/NEWS01|title=Wiley Hilburn: History to be kinder to Blanco than her storm-tossed administration|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=November 19, 2007|accessdate=January 18, 2014}}</ref>​

On November 19, 2007, Hilburn published a column in ''The Shreveport Times'' which purports that former Louisiana [[Governor]] [[Kathleen Blanco]] would be judged much kinder by history than the difficult circumstances which followed [[Hurricane Katrina]]. It was those problems that prompted Blanco , a Democrat who died in 2019, not to seek a second term in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 20, 2007. Victory instead went to Blanco's 2003 opponent, Republican [[Bobby Jindal]]. Wiley Hilburn attended a bipartisan reception for Blanco at the Squire Creek Country Club near his home in Choudrant in Lincoln Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071119/NEWS0804/711190316/1060/NEWS01|title=Wiley Hilburn: History to be kinder to Blanco than her storm-tossed administration|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=November 19, 2007|accessdate=January 18, 2014}}</ref>​

Six weeks earlier, Hilburn had penned a column critical of what he saw as the attitude of certainty in the personality of President [[George W. Bush]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071001/NEWS0804/710010320/1007/OPINION|title=Wiley Hilburn: In Bush's world, optimism rules|date=October 1, 2007|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=January 18, 2014}}</ref>​

Six weeks earlier, Hilburn had penned a column critical of what he saw as the attitude of certainty in the personality of President [[George W. Bush]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071001/NEWS0804/710010320/1007/OPINION|title=Wiley Hilburn: In Bush's world, optimism rules|date=October 1, 2007|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=January 18, 2014}}</ref>​

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==Books==​

=Books==

 

Hilburn is the author of several books, including ''New Seasons'' (published in 2004, a retrospective on fifteen years of newspaper columns), ''Fragments'' (also the title of some past columns), and ''Reflections of North Louisiana''.<ref name=hilburnhonors/><ref name=newseasons/>​

Hilburn is the author of several books, including ''New Seasons'' (published in 2004, a retrospective on fifteen years of newspaper columns), ''Fragments'' (also the title of some past columns), and ''Reflections of North Louisiana''.<ref name=hilburnhonors/><ref name=newseasons/>​

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own experiences — childhood, teen-age growing pains, and encounters as a practicing journalist, with all of his foibles, embarrassments, self doubts, and fantasizing — evoke a nostalgia with which everyone who grew up in a small town can identify. ... He paints a vivid picture of the North Louisiana landscape — sunshine and rain, changing seasons, fishing holes, and woodlands — places where all have been and to which all wish to return.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latech.edu/tech/liberal-arts/history/publications/fragments%20long%20desc.htm|title=Wiley W. Hilburn, Jr., ''Fragments''|publisher=latech.edu|accessdate=January 18, 2014}}</ref></blockquote>​

own experiences — childhood, teen-age growing pains, and encounters as a practicing journalist, with all of his foibles, embarrassments, self doubts, and fantasizing — evoke a nostalgia with which everyone who grew up in a small town can identify. ... He paints a vivid picture of the North Louisiana landscape — sunshine and rain, changing seasons, fishing holes, and woodlands — places where all have been and to which all wish to return.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latech.edu/tech/liberal-arts/history/publications/fragments%20long%20desc.htm|title=Wiley W. Hilburn, Jr., ''Fragments''|publisher=latech.edu|accessdate=January 18, 2014}}</ref></blockquote>​

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==Honors==​

==Honors==

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In 1983, Hilburn was cited by [[United Press International]] for the "Best Louisiana Column Award." In 1989, he received "Special Recognition" from then Governor [[Buddy Roemer]] for "Twenty Years of Dedication to Louisiana Tech University." In 1993, he received the Louisiana Tech Alumni Foundation Award for Outstanding Teacher.<ref name=hilburnhonors>{{cite web|url=http://www.latech.edu/media/wiley-hilburn.shtml|title=Wiley W. Hilburn, Jr.|publisher=latech.edu|accessdate=January 18, 2014}}</ref>​

In 1983, Hilburn was cited by [[United Press International]] for the "Best Louisiana Column Award." In 1989, he received "Special Recognition" from then Governor [[Buddy Roemer]] for "Twenty Years of Dedication to Louisiana Tech University." In 1993, he received the Louisiana Tech Alumni Foundation Award for Outstanding Teacher.<ref name=hilburnhonors>{{cite web|url=http://www.latech.edu/media/wiley-hilburn.shtml|title=Wiley W. Hilburn, Jr.|publisher=latech.edu|accessdate=January 18, 2014}}</ref>​

In 2001, Hilburn was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield.<ref name=hilburnobit/> Other journalists inducted into the Hall of Fame have included ''The Shreveport Times'' political cartoonist Pap Dean,  Iris Kelso of ''The New Orleans Times-Picayune,'' the late newspaper chain owner Sam Hanna, Sr., [[Bill Lynch]], the Baton Rouge bureau chief of ''The Times-Picayune,'' and [[John LaPlante]], of ''The Baton Rouge Advocate.''​

In 2001, Hilburn was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield.<ref name=hilburnobit/> Other journalists inducted into the Hall of Fame have included ''The Shreveport Times'' political cartoonist Pap Dean,  Iris Kelso of ''The New Orleans Times-Picayune,'' the late newspaper chain owner Sam Hanna, Sr., [[Bill Lynch]], the Baton Rouge bureau chief of ''The Times-Picayune,'' and [[John LaPlante]], of ''The Baton Rouge Advocate.''​

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==Family life==​

==Family life==

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Hilburn resided in Choudrant with his second wife, the former Kate Sartor (born March 5, 1949), a [[photographer]]<ref name=newseasons>{{cite web|url=http://www.latech.edu/techtalk/archives/12_09_04/current/columnist.php|title=Sallie Rose Hollis, Wiley Hilburn's ''New Seasons''|publisher=latech.edu|accessdate=January 18, 2014}}</ref> and the daughter of a prominent Shreveport couple active in business, civic, and church affairs, Charles Lane Sartor (1921-2014)<ref name=clsartorobit>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=charles-sartor&pid=172580507&fhid=10218|title=Charles Sartor obituary|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=September 26, 2014}}</ref> and Gloria Sanderson Sartor.<ref name=hilburnobit>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thenewsstar/obituary.aspx?n=wiley-wilson-hilburn&pid=169150070&fhid=6320|title=Wiley Wilson Hilburn, Jr.|publisher=''The Monroe News-Star''|accessdate=January 18, 2014}}</ref>  

Hilburn resided in Choudrant with his second wife, the former Kate Sartor (born March 5, 1949), a [[photographer]]<ref name=newseasons>{{cite web|url=http://www.latech.edu/techtalk/archives/12_09_04/current/columnist.php|title=Sallie Rose Hollis, Wiley Hilburn's ''New Seasons''|publisher=latech.edu|accessdate=January 18, 2014}}</ref> and the daughter of a prominent Shreveport couple active in business, civic, and church affairs, Charles Lane Sartor (1921-2014)<ref name=clsartorobit>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=charles-sartor&pid=172580507&fhid=10218|title=Charles Sartor obituary|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=September 26, 2014}}</ref> and Gloria Sanderson Sartor.<ref name=hilburnobit>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thenewsstar/obituary.aspx?n=wiley-wilson-hilburn&pid=169150070&fhid=6320|title=Wiley Wilson Hilburn, Jr.|publisher=''The Monroe News-Star''|accessdate=January 18, 2014}}</ref>  

Hilburn's brother, Chester William "Chet" Hilburn (born 1945), also a Louisiana Tech graduate, is a retired newspaperman, having worked at ''The Houston Chronicle,'' ''The Alexandria Town Talk, ''The Camden ([[Arkansas]]) News,''  and the defunct ''[[Shreveport Journal]].'' In 2012, Chet Hilburn authored ''The Mystique of Tiger Stadium: 25 Greatest Games: The Ascension of LSU Football''. In the foreword to the book, Chet Hilburn credits his brother for encouraging his interest in LSU football.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amazon.com/The-Mystique-Tiger-Stadium-Ascension/dp/1449752691|author=Chester William "Chet" Hilburn|title=The Mystique of Tiger Stadium: 25 Greatest Games: The Ascension of LSU Football|date=2012|publisher=WestBowPress: ISBN 1449752691|accessdate=September 10, 2012}}</ref>​

Hilburn's brother, Chester William "Chet" Hilburn (born 1945), also a Louisiana Tech graduate, is a retired newspaperman, having worked at ''The Houston Chronicle,'' ''The Alexandria Town Talk, ''The Camden ([[Arkansas]]) News,''  and the defunct ''[[Shreveport Journal]].'' In 2012, Chet Hilburn authored ''The Mystique of Tiger Stadium: 25 Greatest Games: The Ascension of LSU Football''. In the foreword to the book, Chet Hilburn credits his brother for encouraging his interest in LSU football.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amazon.com/The-Mystique-Tiger-Stadium-Ascension/dp/1449752691|author=Chester William "Chet" Hilburn|title=The Mystique of Tiger Stadium: 25 Greatest Games: The Ascension of LSU Football|date=2012|publisher=WestBowPress: ISBN 1449752691|accessdate=September 10, 2012}}</ref>​

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In 2009, shortly before his retirement as the journalism department chairman, Hilburn underwent successful [[heart]] bypass surgery.<ref name=latech/>He had also been treated in recent months for [[cancer]], which had been in remission<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20140126/OPINION02/301260022/100-percent-Wiley-100-percent-time|author=Teddy Allen|title="100 percent Wiley, 100 percent of the time"|publisher=''The Monroe News-Star''|accessdate=January 26, 2014}}</ref> at the time of his death from a brief illness of [[pneumonia]] in January 2014 at the age of seventy-five at North Louisiana Medical Center in Ruston. Services were held on January 19 at the First [[Presbyterian]]Church in Ruston.<ref name=funeralarrangements>{{cite web|url=http://710keel.com/funeral-arrangements-set-for-louisiana-journalist-wiley-hilburn-jr/|title=Funeral Arrangements Set for Louisiana Journalist Wiley Hilburn, Jr.|publisher=710keel.com|accessdate=January 17, 2014}}</ref>Interment followed in the family plot at Greenwood Cemetery in Ruston.<ref name=hilburnobit/>​

In 2009, shortly before his retirement as the journalism department chairman, Hilburn underwent successful [[heart]] bypass surgery.<ref name=latech/>He had also been treated in recent months for [[cancer]], which had been in remission<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20140126/OPINION02/301260022/100-percent-Wiley-100-percent-time|author=Teddy Allen|title="100 percent Wiley, 100 percent of the time"|publisher=''The Monroe News-Star''|accessdate=January 26, 2014}}</ref> at the time of his death from a brief illness of [[pneumonia]] in January 2014 at the age of seventy-five at North Louisiana Medical Center in Ruston. Services were held on January 19 at the First [[Presbyterian]]Church in Ruston.<ref name=funeralarrangements>{{cite web|url=http://710keel.com/funeral-arrangements-set-for-louisiana-journalist-wiley-hilburn-jr/|title=Funeral Arrangements Set for Louisiana Journalist Wiley Hilburn, Jr.|publisher=710keel.com|accessdate=January 17, 2014}}</ref>Interment followed in the family plot at Greenwood Cemetery in Ruston.<ref name=hilburnobit/>​

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On the day of his funeral, Hilburn's last column, another attempt to debunk the existence of black panthers in Louisiana, was carried in ''The 'Monroe News-Star.''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20140119/OPINION02/301190018/Wiley-Hilburn-Column-Black-panthers-Bigfoot|title=Wiley Hilburn Column: Black panthers and Bigfoot|date=January 19, 2014|publisher=''The Monroe News-Star''|accessdate=January 19, 2014}}</ref>​

On the day of his funeral, Hilburn's last column, another attempt to debunk the existence of black panthers in Louisiana, was carried in ''The 'Monroe News-Star.''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20140119/OPINION02/301190018/Wiley-Hilburn-Column-Black-panthers-Bigfoot|title=Wiley Hilburn Column: Black panthers and Bigfoot|date=January 19, 2014|publisher=''The Monroe News-Star''|accessdate=January 19, 2014}}</ref>​

 

==References==​

==References==

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