Leland Douglas ‘Lee’ Hilty Sr.

Leland Douglas “Lee” Hilty Sr., 70, was called home to be with his Lord and Savior on July 30, 2013.

Services are at noon, Aug. 7 at Church on the Rock in Wasilla. A one-hour visitation begins at 11 a.m., and also is at the church. A time of fellowship and graveside interment with Military Honors follows at Wasilla Aurora Cemetery.

Born in Apollo, Penn., Nov. 30, 1942, to Mary and James Hilty, he was the 10th of 11 children. Lee enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1960, and in 1962 was stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage. During this time he met the love of his life and wife, Ruth Alice Wolcoff.

For Ruth and Lee, it truly was “love at first sight,” and on March 17, 1962, they wed in Seward. During their 51 years of wedded bliss, Lee and Ruth raised three children, Brenda Rose, Leland Douglas Jr. and Thomas Gerald. Through the years his family called Alaska, Florida and Washington home, but Alaska was the place their hearts always belonged.

After discharge from the military, from 1965 to 1976, Lee worked as a salesman for Washington Hardware and Mastercraft Kitchens in Anchorage. From 1976 to 1978, he owned and operated his own cabinet shop in Kent, Wash. In 1978, Lee brought his family back to Alaska, where they built their home in Wasilla. Lee worked for Wasilla Appliance Lighting from 1978 until 1981, when he founded Hilty’s Cabinets Inc., a successful family owned and operated business that served Alaska for more than 30 years until Lee retired in 2011.

Lee was an avid hunter, fisherman, gold miner and enjoyed many trips with his sons. This past winter he started a new hobby making fur mittens and hats with the ultimate ambition of making a set for each member in his family. Over the years he also developed and nurtured a passion for organic gardening on a grand scale.

During his lifetime, Lee and Ruth loved traveling together to destination such as Israel, Australia, and of course their annual trip to Hawaii to celebrate their anniversary.

Lee was saved and his name was added to the Lord’s roll in January 1978. From that time to the present, he served the Lord and was very active in his church home serving as a greeter, usher, deacon, treasurer, Sunday School teacher and any other capacity he was called to. Lee always shared his love of Christ with others who crossed his path and if he were to leave one final message, it would be, “Don’t wait to accept the Lord’s free gifts of love and forgiveness;” it is available to all.

Surviving are his beloved wife, Ruth; daughter and son-in-law, Brenda and John Carr; son and daughter-in-law, Bud and Lisa Hilty; son, Tom Hilty; grandchildren, John, Keely, James and Kimberley Carr, and Candice, Kateland, Adrianna, Caleb, Amanda, Samantha and Peyton Hilty; and great-grandchildren, Kaeden and Dilynn Carr.