See comments left by family and friends below.
Hulet passed peacefully away on the morning of January 7th. Recently Hulet successfully beat esophageal cancer and was recovering contentedly when he came down with congestive heart failure this past week. He had been living at his daughter’s lovely and loving Assisted Living Home in Pacific Grove since July. She was by his side when he died.
Hulet loved his family and friends, and as you know, was passionate about trails, parks, and the preservation of greenways. As he rested, he enjoyed reading about trail happenings throughout California and the country.
READ HULET’S OBITUARY ~ provided by his Family
Hulet Hornbeck’s Service – February 26, 2012, 11:00 a.m.
(click here for directions)
East Bay Regional Park District’s Tilden Park
Wildcat Canyon Road at Shasta Road, Berkeley, California
Brazilian Room
Hulet’s family can be reached at: Hornbeck Family, 1229 David Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA 93950.
Read more about Hulet’s life in the “In Memoriam” section of our website.
Here is the direct link to his page: http://www.americantrails.org/resources/memorial/Hulet-Hornbeck-memoriam.html.
We would love to add your stories, articles, memories, photos, quotes, etc., if you would like to pass them on to us. Items can be emailed to trailhead@americantrails.org or you can call the office at 530-547-2060.
Feel free to link to these pages and to share them with others.
Below you can easily post comments, memories, tributes, as well as thoughts for Hulet’s family.
Hulet, the trails community both mourns your loss and celebrates your life! Thank you for lighting our way…
Message from Roger Bell, Friend and American Trails Vice-Chair:
I’ll never forget meetings in which Hulet participated where, because of his hearing difficulties, we might have assumed he was unable to fully follow what was being discussed (and yes, sometimes that was actually so). But then there would be a momentary pause and he would surprise us by summing up and drawing out an essential point of the discussion, clarifying and expanding to highlight what we needed to hear, usually the larger picture. And I deeply appreciate many private discussions we had, many when we roomed together at conferences, where he offered wisdom and perspective and kindness. I always admired and valued those interactions, and never failed to learn something cutting edge he had been reading about and contemplating–Hulet was somehow both old and young in terms of outlook and energy. I am indeed fortunate to have been able to count him as an esteemed colleague, who impacted the trail world in unprecedented ways, and also as a dear friend. I think it is not an overstatement to remember Hulet as a hero who leaves this world the better for having been with us for oh these many years.
I have added to the cc list another longtime friend and fellow trail leader, Charlie Willard, who I know drew upon and similarly appreciated Hulet, for longer than most of us, and will today be remembering him with special fondness and affection.
It’s a time to grieve his passing, but more importantly and along with so many others in a wide, encompassing circle, to celebrate one incredibly meaningful life.
Roger
Message from Marianne Fowler, Friend and American Trails Board Vice-Chair:
The tears well as one remembers a man who changed our world with never a negative word to anyone. Deeply thoughtful with an understanding of the importance of trails and open space in human lives that even we who devote ourselves to the same principle, don’t nearly comprehend on his level. Our mentoring giant has left us.
Message from Kay Lloyd, Friend and Past American Trails Board Chair:
My thoughts and prayers are with his family.
Kay
Message from Christopher Douwes, American Trails Advisory Committee Member:
I’m taking a walk in his memory right now. It helps that it is in the mid 60s today and I am at an alternate location because my normal favorite walk area is full. May God bless Hulet and all who care for him. Happy Trails.
Message from Jenny Rigby, American Trails Board Member:
So sorry to hear the news. I didn’t know Hulet, but surmise he was quite a beacon for American Trails.
My best,
Jenny
Message from Mike Bullington, American Trails Technical Assistance Coordinator:
What a great legacy he has left for us.
Message from Karen Umphress, American Trails Board Member:
That is sad news. Thanks for passing it along. I am glad that his passing was peaceful and in the company of his family.
Karen
Hulet and I met through my loose affiliation with American Trails, hanging out together at conferences, watching him enchant a room, captivating hearts and minds, be it after hours in a bar or at dinner in a ballroom or even on a trail. Hulet will always be the grand ambassador-at-large of the trails world. We really hit it off, enjoying
lively exchanges of life’s insights from theoretical physics, to art and
nature, to spiritual realizations. Hulet, my friend and brother, continue on your journey in peace and clarity and let us know what is around the next curve in the road.
I met Hulet , it seems like a 100 years ago when I was appointed to the Cal. Trails Comm. in the 80’s. In later years we worked together with Tony Look to establish Cal. Trails and Greenways Foundation . He was a wonderful friend and a true treasure. Needless to say: I will miss him .
Ilse Byrnes. , Cal.Trails and Greenways Foundation
Words cannot express my deepest sorrows for Hulet’s passing. He welcomed be aboard the American Trails staff nearly 6 years ago as if he had known me for years. I remember the big hug he gave me upon our first meeting and his attentiveness to really get to know me, and then the follow up talks we had via phone. He was always in great spirits; I could see his big smile through the phone. I wish I had the opportunity to learn more from him, see more of him, but I learn so much through stories from others….and that is truly honorable and what I would have expected from Hulet. He created his legacy through trails, and that legacy will live on forever. Happy Trails, Hulet.
Message from Rodger Schmitt, American Trails Advisory Board Member:
A real loss to his family, friends and colleagues. Having just lost my wife on December 12th, I know what his family is going through, and I hope they focus on the memories. That and having family and friends close by to support me has been a great help. I know they will have the same great support group.
Rodger
Message from Bob Searns, Friend and American Trails Board Chair:
I got to know Hulet during the years we served together on the Board of American Trails. He was a valued colleague, an esteemed mentor, and, most of all, a friend. We will all miss Hulet! One of the most enjoyable and enlightening experiences for me with Hulet is when our Board would meet up each year for our retreats and our National Symposium. Hulet and I always engaged in long chats. He would share his life’s experiences and we would talk about all kinds of phenomena both earthly and metaphysical.
At my prodding–Hulet was never one to boast or pontificate–he shared stories of his experiences as a teenage B-17 navigator in the World War II Pacific Theater. He recounted fighting the fight in the early 1960’s with a cadre of fearless friends and colleagues to save the San Francisco Bay–before environmentalism was in vogue and other selfless efforts to make this a better nation and a better planet. We would discuss the mysteries and oddities of the world including the synchronicity and serendipity of events both in our world of trails and open space and the broader sweep of history. One time he sent me an article about a World War II bomber found almost fully preserved in the a swamp in New Guinea, where he was based, a half century after it ditched there.
When, from time to time, as Chair of American Trails, I needed advice on how to solve a tricky problem or build a consensus, Hulet was always there, a mentor, with the advice and the answers I needed. To me Hulet was the epitome of a great man from “The Greatest Generation”. His life and his deeds live on as a legacy and a shinning example.
I want to thank all of those who have put keyboard to work to express their thoughts about my father. I will say this – he loved being a member of American Trails – he loved trails and he especially loved trails in America. My first memories of trails go back to about age 4 and stepping over tree roots that were crisscrossing a forest trail while following my father’s footsteps.
I hiked in Briones Regional Park with Dad before it was a park, before he even worked for the park district. My wife, Irene, and I walked in Briones on the eve of 2012. We told dad about our walk one week before he died, as he cradled his great grandson, Stas, in his arms. My eyes are teary now. I may have to write more later. Perhaps tidbits of stories about a great man. A man who fought many battles. A man who looked at America without thoughts of greed but rather with thoughts of – “I think this would make a nice park, a place for people to walk.”
Rest in peace. You will be missed but never forgotten! A man of Honor,Courage and Kindness.
Dear Grandpa,
I am so thankful for having you in my life. I am so happy that you had a chance to meet your great grandson Stas. I will never forget the look on your face when we came to see you on December 30, 2011. You were so happy that day, even though you couldn’t really talk I could see the happiness in you eyes. I was 15 years old when I first met you. Since that day I loved you as my grandfather. I am so thankful for having you as my grandfather. You were and always will be the most kind, honest, smart, giving, loving,thoughtful, and the most amazing person that I have ever met. Thank you for being my grandfather. Thank you for letting me grow close to you. Thank you for accepting me like I was your own.You always considered me as one of your own. The times we spent together I will never forget. The walks, the talks, the stories you shared with me. You lit up my life, You are the greatest person I have ever met. Its so hard to accept that you are gone. I wake up and I know that you are not here with us and I am so sad because I know that you are gone forever. My eyes are sore from crying. I keep asking God, ” why did my grandfather have to go?!” But I know God would tell me that it was your time and that he needed his angel back. I know you are in the better place now, in Heaven looking down on us. ” If thoughts could make a pathway and memories a lane, I’d walk right up to Heaven and bring you home again.” Grandpa my memories of you will live forever in my heart. Grandpa you are the sun, you are the moon, you are the rain, you are the clouds, you are the brightest star in the night sky . You are here with us even though we can’t see you, I feel your spirit.
I miss you and love you with all my heart. I will never forget you. “Gone but not Forgotten”.
You are forever in my heart.
Love, your granddaughter Katya Hornbeck.
Hi, Katya. My name is Candace, the Executive Assistant at American Trails. I wanted to let you know that we loved your quote so much in your message to your grandpa. It touched us so much, as Hulet was a dear friend of ours, that we added it to the top of your grandpa’s memorial page we made for him on our website. You can see it at http://www.americantrails.org/resources/memorial/Hulet-Hornbeck-memoriam.html. I hope that is okay. You can email me at candace@americantrails.org if you have any questions. Thanks.
Hulet has left such a remarkable legacy for all Americans who love trails. His kind, gentle leadership was such an inspiration to all of us as we try to emulate his total devotion to trails organizations and trail users across our nation. He will truly be missed by all who had the pure joy of knowing him, and his lifelong mentorship definitely lives on in all of us who strive to carry on his mission.
Thank you all for your wonderful words about my grandfather. He was an amazing human being and the world would not be the same without him. What a wonderful world it would be if more people were like my grandfather. I know that his passion for preserving wildlands and open spaces will be appreciated for generations of people and wildlife to come. I feel privilege to be his granddaughter. He was deeply love and will be deeply missed by everyone that knew him.
Hulet was an inspiration to me the first time I met him and every time I saw him afterward. I was so fortunate to know him through the American Trails Board. He embodied all of the personal and professional traits that make be believe in the importance of trails and open spaces. Our world is better because of him.
We live 3 doors from the Ironhorse Trail and walk it every day with our dog. If it weren’t for Hulet’s foresight we might not have many of the lovely trails and open spaces in Contra Costa and the East Bay to enjoy. We’ll miss your many stories around the holiday dinner table at your son’s home. And all your entertaining stories of your flying in the Pacific Theater in WWII in your B-17. Hulet was a gracious and lovely person.
I am compelled to make some comments in memory of Hulet Hornbeck, a dear friend of my father and my entire family. I first met Hulet more than 40 years ago when I began going to reunions of the famous 19th Bombardment Group. My dad, Lt. Col. John Wallace Fields, was a B-17 pilot with 51 combat missions in the southwest Pacific against the Japanese. Hulet Hornbeck was his navigator and dear friend. Dad and I had the privilege of attending many reunions with Hulet across the country and my father told me many times that Hulet had saved the lives of his crew on many occasions. Many of you may not be familiar with Hulet’s wartime exploits, but he served as navigator in the vast regions of the Pacific without any of the sophisticated navaid’s pilots enjoy today. With his superior intellect, he was able to rely on “dead-reckoning” and “shooting the stars” (celestial navigation with a sextant just like Columbus) to complete many successful reconnaissance and bombing missions, in the worst of weather, under Japanese attack on almost every mission. How he managed to do so successfully against all these obstacles was a tribute to his indomitable will, personal courage, and intellectual abilities.
Even during the war, Hulet’s wanderlust was evident. Dad told me that, between missions, when the rest of the crew would be lounging around (if you can lounge in the jungle) at their airbase at Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, Hulet would disappear on solitary treks. Hulet told me he once hiked to Runa Falls, a beautiful area many miles distant from Port Moresby, to see that landmark. He did all this while traveling Japanese-infested jungle, as a lark. That trek is representative to me of his irrepressible desire for exploration and physical exertion.
I was able to stay in touch with Hulet over the years, and pleased that I sent him a Christmas remembrance just prior to his passing.
I last saw Hulet about five years ago when he traveled to meet me at a Commemorative Air Force Air Show in Midland, Texas, where his zest for life was much in evidence.
Hulet obviously had a tremendous impact on others after his wartime exploits, but I would not be here if he had not, on numerous occasions, assured the safe return of my father and his crewmates on their B-17 Flying Fortress. As Dad and Hulet both told me, they had a fighter escort on every mission. All Japanese!
He will always have a place in our hearts and in the memory of a grateful nation. What an incredible man!
Tailwinds, my dear friend.
Ken Fields and family
I came to know Hulet when I joined the Board of American Trails in 2002. In the time I knew him, I truly enjoyed his company and every moment that I was fortunate to spend time with him at Board meetings and the Symposiums. He and I even shared a couple of phone calls together. I always considered it a blessing to be in his presence, to hear his wisdom, and be lifted by his enthusiasm and optimism. What an incredible legacy he has left.
Hulet visited my community, the Quad Cities, twice and delighted all of us each time. Hulet visited in 2005 as the American Trails board of directors met here to prepare for the National Trails Symposium and visited again in 2006 to attend the symposium After the trails symposium, Hulet sent several of us on the local planning team a beautiful framed poster of the 2006 event. The poster to this day hangs on my office wall. I last saw Hulet at an American Trails board retreat in 2007 in Redding, CA. As the retreat was wrapping up, the board members were going around the table telling what they had learned from the retreat. Hulet spoke eloquently and then it was my turn. “I have learned to never follow Hulet because you cannot top his remarks,” I said to lots of laughs. Hulet, we miss you but know that you live on in the parks, trails and friendships you created.
Hulet and I met at various times over the years through grant work and other work contacts while he was with EBRPD, but I did not get to know him until I became statewide trails manager in 1989. Hulet was a governor’s appointee to the Ca Recreational Trails Committee, and I was staff to the committee. Initially I found his directness a bit uncomfortable, but over time I found that to be a wonderful trait. As we worked together over the years on the California Trails Program and later on the American Trails Board, our friendship developed to where some have described it to be like father and son. I admired Hulet and would have been honored to be his son and miss him as if he were my father. Yet I don’t think that would be a totally accurate description of our relationship. Hulet and I shared a special bond which I have had with no one else. More like the relationship between twins but separated by a generation, mentally knowing what the other was thinking. We used to laugh at how we would not even have to say things to each other to know where the other one stood. I miss him greatly, but his memories give me warmth.
Hulet was a leader. He was adventurous and never let fear get in the way of doing what he wanted to do or what he felt was right. He was dedicated to making the world a better place for all people. He recognized the value of protecting open-space and providing public access. He pursued those twin goals with vigor, integrity, passion, and wise actions. He built relationships with people he agreed with and those he did not. He lived life to the fullest whether is was work or travelling to far away places. He was an incredibly strong man, and we thought he would live forever. Sadly, against all of our wishes, it had to end. He didn’t get cheated, he lived life fully, by his terms, right until the end.
We all miss Hulet greatly and we need to grieve. I believe that Hulet would appreciate that. Yet, I think Hulet would say, take your time to grieve, but quickly get back to the task of protecting public spaces and provide for trails so that the public can enjoy them. Through this they will grow to care for them and protect them. This is the legacy he gave us. Now we have to honor it, by continuing his work.
Charlie Willard
I am very sad to hear of the passing of Hulet Hornbeck. I am an off roader, love the outdoors and travel in the trails of America on my motorized vehicle. Hulet never once held that against me. He always worked with the public regardless of your mode of transportation and he will be greatly missed.
My prayers to his family.
Ed Waldheim,
Past Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commissioner for State of California
Hulet hornbeck was a friend of mine and I am proud to say it. He was always fun to talk to, cheerfiul, and a very kind man. He was supportive of me. One example of this is his purchase of my poetry book. He worked extensively with my father, the late Glenn Seaborg, on protecting open space and creating trails in the East Bay Regional Park District. He was on the stage with me at Zellerbach Hall on the UC Berkeley campus in front of about a thousand people when I gave the eulogy and he spoke at the memorial celebration of my father’s life. I think saving the earth, the environment, habitat, and species of animals and plants are the most important things humanity needs to do. Hulet was a leader in this, a dedicated and tireless environmental worker, both in his work and as a volunteer. His is an inspiration to me and many others. He was kind to everyone. I am not alone in saying I will miss him deeply.
How very sad to hear of Hulet’s passing. He was a wonderful man and a wonderful advocate for trails.
Patti Longmuir
Thanks for sharing the information on Hulet. Sounds like he was quite the guy!
I was reading The Last Season recently and found this great quote by Edward Abbey:
“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view…where storms come and go as lightning clangs upon the high crags where something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you…beyond the next turning of the canyon walls.”
Edward Abbey – “Benediction”
We mourn the passing and celebrate the life of Hulet Hornbeck – Ridge Trail champion, colleague of Ridge Trail Founder William Penn Mott Jr., and life long Ridge Trail supporter. The Bay Area Ridge Trail Council will be forever grateful to Hulet for his passionate dedication and heroic efforts as Chief of Land Acquisition, East Bay Regional Park District, to preserve the East Bay’s precious open spaces, especially the ridgelines. Because of Hulet’s tenacity, strength and resolve, when the Ridge Trail was “born” in 1989, we had a place to begin – one of our first Ridge Trail segments is dedicated in the East Bay Hills. The Hulet Hornbeck Trail is also a segment of the Ridge Trail with expansive views located within the protected lands of the Carquinez Strait Regional Shoreline near Martinez. We’ve now created 337 miles of the Ridge Trail that will one day be 550 miles long and encircle the entire Bay Area. We our proud that Hulet chose to be one of our champions. We will miss him, always be thankful for his many gifts to the Bay Area and will continue our work until all 550 trail miles are dedicated and open for all forever.
On a very personal note, Hulet would, on occasion, look me straight in the eyes and convey with his spirited intensity many wise negotiating tools that he used with private landowners to gain their trust and cooperation. He then made me promise to be diligent, straightforward and never take a no as a final answer. Hulet, thanks for the tools – and no worries – a promise is a promise.
Dee Swanhuyser, North Bay Trail Director
Bay Area Ridge Trail Council
Dear Grandpa:
Thank you for all the knowledge you have given me when you were helping me with home schooling in 2003. Thank you for providing resources that always led to great learning experiences. The memories of our outings will always be remembered. I am saddened by the thought of not being able to see you and at the same time i am happy to know that you had a full, happy life, that was filled with numerous great accomplishments. You are a hero, a legend,a friend, a brother, a father, grandfather and a great grandfather and it will always be that way. We will miss you and we will always love you. You will remain living in my heart. I love you.
Hulet sat me down my first day at work and said, here! fill out these grant forms and left me to it. I had to beg for a typewritter and later beg for time on the only computer with big floppy disks. He was direct, to the point, emphasized urgency, accuracy and promptness, and he gave praise when deserved. He sent my life in a new direction, inspired me, and opened up tremendous opportunities for the preservation of open space and for the creation of the Alameda and Contra Costa County regional trail system. His legacy is tremendous and will continue for many generations to come. Thank you Hulet!!