Birth date: Dec 19, 1941 Death date: Oct 19, 2023
Hilton Hemphill passed away peacefully on October 19, 2023, at the age of 81. He was born in Dayton, Texas, on December 19, 1941, to Dr. Lee and Lunelle Hemphill. As a child, he was active at the First Baptist Church of Littlefiel Read Obituary
Hilltop was a dear friend of my first husband Larry Edwards (deceaseds) at HSU. They served together together as officers of the student body & charter members of Tau Alpha Phi & ROTC. We highly regarded Hilton & Carolyn as dear friends.
Mary Efwards Xumwalt
There are so many stories to tell about our friend Hilton Hemphill that there is not room to tell them all so I will stick to one story that has always been in the back of my mind and will be there until my last day.
I actually graduated from LHS in 1959 along with "Hemp". There was a huge difference in My education and His education. This may not be exactly correct but it is close. Out of a class of 79, I was ranked 67th and I believe He was 2nd. Two weeks before the semester started at HSU, my Father asked me for the first time if I wanted to go to College and if so where? I told him that I would like to go to HSU. He said that I had better get in my car and go to see if I could get registered. That day, I went home from the Radiator Shop and took a bath, gathered some clothes and drove to Abilene. Knowing absolutely nothing about what I was doing, I drove on to campus and immediately spotted Hemp's car. I went into that building and found him and told him what I was doing. Without even showing anything but being happy to see me, He said "great". It was late in the day so he said that we would do it the next day and he took me home, fed me and gave me a place to sleep. The next morning he walked with me through the entire process and by the end of the day I was registered. Twelve years later I graduated from WTSU. The point is that if it had not been for Hemp, I probably would have never been in College.
Hemp was a great friend to me. As James Pressley indicated in his comments Hilton was a model for us all and I am extremely grateful for his friendship.
My condolences also to Rosa Lee and all of Hemp's Family.
Robert Massengale November 2, 2023
When I moved to Littlefield, TX at the midpoint of my 7th grade, our house was next door to the Hemphill's. We became instant best friends. It is difficult to describe how many 'projects' we conceived, how many hours we spent studying together, and how many days(and nights) we spent hunting and fishing together. Numerous days and nights were spent on a creek in the middle of nowhere on his cousin's ranch in mid-Texas. We employed every technique to catch fish, and even cooked our catch for dinner!
We competed and shared all the way to high school graduation, 1959. Then we started all over again as room-mates at Hardin-Simmons U. for the next 4 years. During this time, he over-achieved me by a large margin, and his achievements have been documented.
Our careers took us apart, although we got a chance to visit at some reunions in Texas and he visited me once in Lancaster, PA.
Hilton was by far the most honorable person I have ever known. He knew what he believed, and was never reluctant to share it. I have missed that influence for many years now and I miss it today.
My condolences to Rosa Lee and all of his extended family. You most certainly have a model to live by.
James Pressley Nov 1, 2023
I will definitely miss Mr Hemphill. He was awesome. I loved being able to take care of him at BWC. He always had a smile on his face. When I would go to get him sometime to do things he would play this little tug a war with my hangs and just laugh. He was truly great. Won’t be the same without him at BWC
