Robert Eugene Hilton, Attorney of Dallas, Texas, lived his life in the service of others. He frequently took his young children with him to the office while he worked on Saturday to give his wife, Jonnita, some well-deserved breaks. When there were too many kids wanting to play soccer for one team, Robert - who knew almost nothing about soccer - volunteered to help coach a second team so everyone who wanted to play could.
Robert, graduated from SMU School of Law, where he played drums in the band. He practiced law as a solo practitioner for 60 years. Even when his practice was doing well, he could not resist giving of his time to someone truly in need. For example, in his prime he represented a single mother renting a miniscule cabin on a dusty plot of land along a dirt road in a dispute with the landlord. Everything was the same dirt color; the yard, the road, the cabin. It all seemed to be waiting to be blown or washed away, but it was all she could afford. If Robert had not represented her, it’s very doubtful her voice would have been heard. Throughout his career, clients would occasionally come over to do handyman jobs or drop off produce or eggs in payment for Robert’s legal services.
Robert particularly enjoyed family law, even though it largely involved handling divorces. There were often dinnertime phone calls from an upset divorcing client where Robert was overheard counseling them to let go of the past and the anger and focus on moving forward. It would have been easy to feed their anger and resentment and earn more fees, but the client would not have benefited. Most of the divorce attorneys Robert practiced against likewise did their best to put the client’s interest first, which is why Robert enjoyed family law so much. It was a brotherhood of attorneys genuinely doing their best to do the right thing for their clients.
Robert served others in many additional ways, including caring for his beloved wife, Jonnita, as she battled dementia, being active in St. Vincent De Paul, being an usher at church, and making donations to numerous charities.
Robert did have his guilty pleasures. He could not resist a bowl of ice cream or a milk shake. And he loved watching and listening to sports. It was not unusual to see him working on a case in front of a TV showing a Cowboys game, with a radio earbud in one ear playing a Rangers, Mavericks, or Stars game. Somehow, he could always tell you not only the scores of both games, but where each game was in the inning, quarter, half, or period, and, of course, what he was working on for his case.
Robert passed away at the age of 93 on Friday, January 6, 2023, just three weeks after the great loss of Jonnita.
Parents, Delvan and Mildred, and beloved wife, Jonnita, pre-deceased Robert. His brother, Richard, four children, Teresa, Michael, Anthony, and Christopher; seven grandchildren, Matthew, Marissa, Stephen, Brian, Katherine, Robert, and Ashley, three great grandchildren, Solomon, Evangeline, and Angelina, and six in-laws, Joseph, Theresa, Janet, Alyssa, Charles, and Scott all survive Robert. He will be deeply missed by all those whose lives he touched.
Funeral mass will be in the North Chapel of Calvary Hill Funeral Home on Friday, January 20, 2023, at 11:00, followed by interment at Calvary Hill Cemetery.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.calvaryhilldallas.com for the Hilton family.
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