Necrology

Neal Bickley Hiler '69

Dec. 19, 1946-Apr. 20, 2020

Neal Bickley Hiler ’69 was a civil engineer who began his career working in heavy road construction and eventually founded his own ­company.

Hiler, of Orlando, Fla., died on April 10, 2020, at age 73.

A native of Dansville, N.Y., Hiler was born on Dec. 19, 1946, a son of Martha Hiler, a housewife, and Donald Hiler ’30, a teacher. He graduated from Dansville Central High School, where he lettered in football, basketball, and track.

A math and science major at Hamilton, Hiler pledged Delta Upsilon fraternity and was inducted into the Doers & Thinkers honor society. His career goal was to become an engineer, so after two years at Hamilton, Hiler transferred to the University of Buffalo, but he kept up his Hamilton ties, still making it back to College Hill for what he called “party weekends.” He graduated from Buffalo in 1970 with a degree in civil engineering.

More than anything else about ­Hamilton, Hiler wrote in his 50th reunion yearbook, “I remember the close-knit atmosphere of ‘the Hill.’” He also remembered nearly all of his professors and classmates. Also unforgettable — the time a dean stepped up to the plate and hit a baseball through a third-story window; the blackout of the entire Northeast his freshman year; and students jumping out third-story windows after the “big snow.”

After graduation, Hiler worked in heavy road construction in Buffalo and near Dansville. In 1972, he moved to ­Florida to work as a civil engineer with Orange County for a dozen years. He then moved to a professional engineering consulting firm and became a junior partner at The Civil Design Group before launching his own company.

Survivors include his wife, Linda ­Herrick Hiler, two sons, a stepdaughter, a brother, and four grandchildren. Hiler’s younger brother is the late Steven Hiler ’73, and an uncle, Wilber Ward Hiler, attended the College for one year.

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