10/02/2026
We are saddened to share the recent passing of former Willamette Professor Emeritus of Economics Tom Hibbard.
Below is a message shared by University Chaplain Ken Wytsma with the campus community.
If you're in the area this weekend, all are welcome to attend a Celebration of Life, which will be held Sunday, Oct. 4, at 4 p.m. in Cone Chapel.
Message from University Chaplain Ken Wytsma:
It is with deep sadness that I share the news that Tom Hibbard, Professor Emeritus of Economics, passed away on Wednesday, September 9th. He was 88 years old and surrounded by family and loved ones at the time of his passing.
Tom's connection to Willamette ran deep and wide. During his over 30 years on the faculty (1973-2003), he wore many hats: Professor of Economics, Head Coach of the Women's Golf Team, Associate Dean of the College, and, on several occasions when the university needed him, Registrar. Few people have served an institution in so many different roles, and fewer still have done it with such goodwill and good humor.
A Portland native, Tom earned his BA from Pomona College and his PhD from Claremont Graduate School. Before joining Willamette, he held faculty positions at Claremont McKenna College, Middlebury College, Simon Fraser University, and Oregon State University. It was at Willamette, though, where he found his home.
In the classroom, Tom taught comparative economic systems. He led study-abroad programs to Japan and China, giving generations of students the chance to see the economies they had studied up close. As Associate Dean, he helped shape the assessment of the freshman seminar program, work that strengthened the foundation of a Willamette education for years to come.
Those who knew Tom describe a generous colleague, dedicated to his students, supportive of his fellow faculty, and committed to Willamette in ways large and small. Retirement did little to slow him down. As an active and engaged member of the Institute for Continued Learning, he remained a familiar presence on campus, stopping to talk with staff and students and staying woven into the daily life of the university he loved.
Above all, Tom is remembered as a humble and humorous man. When something didn't go quite as planned, he was known to say, "Once again, walking on water has eluded me." It was a line that captured him well: self-deprecating and never inclined to take himself too seriously, even as he took his work and his students seriously.
Surviving are his wife, Priscilla Hibbard; daughters, Andrea Hibbard and Laura Schneiderman; son, Paul Hibbard; and grandchildren, Celia Parry, Oliver Parry, Catherine Hibbard, William Hibbard, and Ethan Schneiderman.
There will be a Celebration of Life held on Sunday, October 4th at 4:00 P.M. at Willamette University’s Cone Chapel, followed by a reception. All are welcome to attend. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you make gifts to Willamette University in Tom's memory.
Please join me in extending our condolences to Tom's family and to the many colleagues, students, and friends whose lives he touched. Willamette is a better place for the years he gave it.
With sympathy,
Ken
