BATH –Hilton Libby was a longtime salesman for American Steel and Aluminum Corp., who had a successful career selling its product to businesses across the midcoast.
Though his career was an important part of his life, nothing meant more to him than spending time with his wife, especially on the golf course.
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Mr. Libby died early Thursday. He was 84.
He was a loving husband to Dorothy Libby for 63 years, and a devoted father of their two children. His wife spoke with great sadness Thursday, just hours after she received the call that her husband had died.
“When you have been with someone as long as I have, it’s like half of me is missing,” his wife said.
“It’s just a terrible feeling right now that I haven’t got my other half to help me out. It’s awful. I’m going to miss him so much.”
She reflected Thursday on the beginning of their relationship and the experiences they shared together.
The Libbys met at a basketball game at Morse High School about a year or so after he had graduated from there in 1945. Soon after, they started dating and got married a year and a half later.
For the first 25 years of their marriage, he played the trumpet and performed in bands across the midcoast. She remembered the years she saw him play before their children were born.
“I had a great time, too,” she said. “He also got paid for it, so that helped. He was a natural at it.”
Mr. Libby and his wife enjoyed bowling, riding bicycles and skiing together. They also vacationed in Florida.
One of his greatest passions was playing golf. Luckily for him, his wife liked playing, too. The Libbys were members of the Bath Country Club for more than 30 years. She said they played well enough to enjoy the game. They played up until four or five years ago.
“I loved being there with him,” she said.
Mr. Libby worked in metals sales and marketing at American Steel and Aluminum Corp. in South Portland for 21 years. As a salesman, his job was to travel to companies across the midcoast that needed steel. He retired in 1992.
His wife said he was a hardworking family man.
“He was on the road a lot. He loved to drive, but he was home at night by 6 o’clock,” she said.
Mr. Libby’s wife said he was a devoted father, who took an interest in his children’s lives.
He was also a longtime member of Grace Episcopal Church in Bath. His wife said he gave generously to the church and other local causes, such as the Maine chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Mr. Libby suffered from liver cancer. He died Thursday at the Mid Coast Senior Health Center in Brunswick.
His wife said she will miss having him to talk to.
“I can’t imagine not having him around,” she said. “ You just don’t spend 63 years with someone and not miss them terribly.”
Staff Writer Melanie Creamer can be contacted at 791-6361 or at: mcreamer@pressherald.com
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