John J. Hilferty Jr., 83, passed away at his home in Moretown Village on December 15, 2015. Born in Media, Pennsylvania, on September 2, 1932, he was the son of John J. and Ruth (Travers) Hilferty. On September 11, 1962, he married Eleanore June Diehl in Reading, Pennsylvania. They have two children, John J. Hilferty III and June Hilferty Cook.
John was a graduate of Media High School in 1950 and Temple University in 1955. He started his career as a journalist working for The Mercury (Pottstown, Pennsylvania). He eventually became chief editorial writer for the Reading Times. Later, he then became a reporter/columnist/editor for The Philadelphia Inquirer. While working for The Inquirer he received a Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for his coverage of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident.
John and Ellie lived in Reading, Pennsylvania, and then moved to Philadelphia when John began working for The Philadelphia Inquirer. When John retired from The Inquirer in 1994 after 26 years, he and Ellie moved to Moretown. John was active in the Mad River Chorale, a lector at St. Patrick Church in Moretown and an official in local and state Republican politics. He was also a member of the League of Vermont Writers and of local writing groups.
While in Vermont, he has written two novels and two works of nonfiction. John’s first novel, Moonlight in Vermont, was selected as the best Romance of 2007 by the National Indie Excellence awards. In 1993, he started writing a column, The Senior Traveler, for The Philadelphia Inquirer and after retirement it was syndicated. The column was awarded a gold medal for outstanding travel writing in newspapers by the Mature Market Research Center in 1998, a silver medal in 2000 and a silver medal in 2004. He was a member of the Rose Tree Media distinguished alumni.
John was fortunate to be able to travel extensively during his “semi” retirement. His travel writing allowed him to visit Egypt, Russia, Hungary, Budapest, Turkey, Finland, Germany, Holland and Italy.
He enjoyed skiing, traveling, singing and most of all his family life, especially with his six grandchildren.
John is survived by his wife, Ellie; his children, John III and June; grandchildren, Meghan, Liam, Aiden and Molly Hilferty and Shannon and Ella Cook; sister, Catherine Thomas; and nieces, Sally and Katie.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Mad River Chorale. Mail donations to Lynn Barnes, treasurer, MRC, P.O. Box 158, Waitsfield. VT 05673.
The date of the memorial mass has yet to be announced.
