Jeffrey R. Hilgert, 76, of Rio Grande, N.J., passed away at home with his family on December 9.

Jeff will be missed by his loving family, which includes his wife of 53 years, Patricia; two children, Jennifer (and Kris) Clark and grandson, Jacob; and Greg (and Melissa) Hilgert and granddaughter, Everly; sisters Judith (and Blaikie) Hines, their daughter Christina (and Peter) Hastings, and their sons William and Henry; Donna (and John) Rhode and their daughter, Abbey; and Dianne Hobbie; and brother-in-law, Roger Boyle, and his sons, Michael and Christopher.

He is predeceased by a sister, Wendy Boyle.

Jeff was born September 2, 1944, in Berkley, Calif., the son of Charles and Dorothy (Reeves) Hilgert, and grew up in Darien. He graduated from Darien High School in 1962 and then attended Mitchell College and University of Bridgeport, where he earned his Master of Arts in international marketing. He married Patricia in Wilton, in 1967, and they moved to Newtown, where they raised their family.

Jeff spent his professional career working for Branson Ultrasonics (Emerson Electric Corporation) in Danbury as director of marketing and business development. After retirement, he and Patricia divided their time between New Berlin, N.Y., and Cape May County, N.J.

Jeff enjoyed sailing, fishing, soaring, working in his garden, traveling, and genealogy, but most of all he enjoyed precious time with his family and friends. He loved learning new things, was a friend and helper to everyone he met, and never gave up reaching for what he wanted to accomplish, pushing himself even when faced with adversity. Jeff was related to many of the founding families of Cape May, N.J., including the Reeves and Matthews families. He enjoyed researching family and Cape May history and, in his retirement, spent many hours serving on the Board of Trustees at the Cape May Historical & Genealogical Society, Cape May Court House, N.J.

A graveside service and interment will be held at Cold Spring Presbyterian Cemetery, Cape May, N.J., on Saturday, December 19, at 1 pm and a memorial service will be arranged at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Jeff’s memory may be made to the National Kidney Foundation at kidney.org or Amyloidosis Foundation at amyloidosis.org.

Spilker Funeral Home, Cape May, N.J., info and condolences: spilkerfuneralhome.com.