Arthur "Bud" Hilton

Arthur R. Bud Hilton was an energetic man with multiple skills and a big heart. He loved his family dearly and made time for them amid his busy schedule and business ventures. He was an example to his children and grandchildren, who benefitted from his work ethic and playful spirit. Being the outgoing person that he was, Bud was friendly to neighbors and customers alike. It was the family he cherished and the friends he kept that made him a truly successful man. Bud, who never went by any other name, was born Arthur Russell on March 31, 1930 in Muskegon, Michigan. He was the son of Russell and Harriet (Reck) Hilton and brother of Donna Jean. Though families experienced harsh conditions during the Depression years, Buds father worked a stable job with Continental Motors. Later, he bought a camera shop in Fremont, Michigan, and that business move ultimately proved fruitful in Buds life. Growing up in the Lakeside neighborhood of Muskegon, Bud enjoyed a rather typical childhood filled with fun and a fair bit of mischief with his buddies. He attended Bunker School and then Muskegon High School through the 10th grade, after which he went to live with his aunt and uncle on a fruit farm in Hart, Michigan. Bud helped out on the farm, and when he was a little older he worked at the button factory in Muskegon. His work experience was accompanied by an enterprising spirit that would come to fruition in the years ahead. Buds attention was drawn to romance when he met Beverly June Wohlford at the Curvecrest Roller Skating Rink in Muskegon. The two began a rather irregularly dating relationship. Bud had to travel nearly 40 miles on his Cushman Motor Scooter from Hart to Muskegon to go skating with Beverly June. Then in 1950, he joined the US Air Force and was stationed in Presque Isle, Maine for four years during the Korean Conflict. Bud kept in touch with June by letter and during visits home, but he felt far away in the cold and snowy Northeast. However, frigid temperatures did not stop the couple from getting married on December 11, 1953 and settling in Maine for Buds final year of duty. In the service, Bud had been a camera repairman and photographer, taking aerial shots of plane crashes. When he and June moved back to Fremont, he went to work at The Camera Shop his father had purchased. In the early 1960s, Bud and his brother-in-law turned the shop into an office machine company and moved its location. Muskegon became the new home of Hilton-Frost Office Equipment, which the two of them ran for 25 years. Bud added value to the business by taking classes in typewriter repair so they could specialize in equipment maintenance as well as sales. Bud and June also moved to Muskegon in the Sherwood Forest subdivision of Laketon Township. June operated a beauty shop in the basement of their home while also dealing with five sonsMark, Gary, Rick, Troy and Deanborn between 1956 and 1968. The family enjoyed their 7-year stay in the Forest, in part because of wonderful neighbors who were known to pull practical jokes on each other. One particularly memorable feat was putting a fishing boat on the roof of the Hilton home. When Bud and June bought a 40-acre farm in Ravenna, the boys had plenty to keep them busy by helping out with cows, pigs, chickens and raising hay, corn and other cash crops. Bud continued to work at the office machine company until he sold the business in 1980. That same year, he and June bought Daniels Hair Styling Academy in Muskegon Heights. Bud helped remodel an old grocery store turned beauty school, which the two of them operated for the next 30 years. Bud was quite the handyman and could fix anything around the shop and farm, and he passed on the skill to his sons. Bud also repaired clocks and subsequently became a collector with over 100 of them in his possession. Living on an active farm, the family had more time for recreation in the winter, and they all enjoyed snowmobiling. Bud and June did a lot of traveling to warm climates, taking trips to the Caribbean, Cancun, Jamaica, Hawaii and Spain to name a few. They were very active socially and met up with numerous friends at their membership lodges: Vikings, Muskegon Elks, Muskegon Eagles and the Polish Falcon Hall. They liked to dance, especially square dance with Pairs and Squares, and were known to cut a rug at wedding receptions, too. Bud had a great sense of humor and always had a joke to crack or a story to tell. When their son Troy died in a car accident in 1982, Bud and June were heartbroken. They sold the farm soon after and moved back into Muskegon, where friends and family, especially grandchildren, gave them renewed vigor. Bud loved being a grandpa, and he spent as much time with the grandkids as possible. Family holiday gatherings had to be held at a school because their numbers had grown so much. Easter egg hunts were a highlight when the grandkids were young, but as they grew older, they were sure to be teased by Grandpa asking them, Hows your love life? Twelve years ago, Bud suffered a fall off a ladder. Although he recovered, the accident slowed him down in the ensuing years. Still, he liked to spend his days at the beauty school, greeting people when they came in and doing small projects. More recently, he showed some signs of having Alzheimers Disease, yet Buds resilient spirit and love of life remained strong. Mr. Arthur R. "Bud" Hilton, age 84 of Muskegon, Michigan, passed away at his home on Monday, February 16, 2015. SURVIVORS Wife of 61 years, Beverly June; sons, Mark Hilton, Gary Hilton, Rick Hilton & Dean Hilton, all of Muskegon; 13 grandchildren; 20 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by son, Troy in 1982 and sister, Donna Jean Frost. SERVICE Tuesday, February 24, 2015, 1:00 p.m. with visitation starting at noon at the Clock Chapel - Muskegon. MEMORIAL: Linne Lodge #57 Viking Scholarship Fund or Hospice of your choice. Please visit www.clockfuneralhome.com to leave a memory or sign the online guest book