PORT ORANGE, FL ~ Oscar A. Hilbert, 95, of Port Orange, Florida and a former longtime resident of Chicopee, Massachusetts, was Called Safely Home on Friday, February 8, 2019. He passed into Eternal Life at the Countryside Lakes Assisted Living in Port Orange surrounded by the care and comfort of his loving family and his wonderful caregivers. He was born at home in the Aldenville section of Chicopee on September 21, 1923, a beloved son of the late Otto and Emma (Van Mirlo) Hilbert. He was raised in Chicopee, graduated from Chicopee High School and lived in Chicopee for many years before moving to Port Orange in 2001. Oscar served his country in the United States Army during World War II with the 3542nd Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company and attained the rank of Technician Fifth Grade. He served in the battles of Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe and was the recipient of Five Bronze Service Stars for each of those campaigns. He also received the French Medal of Honor for his participation at Normandy on D-Day. He received an award from the United States 8th Air Force for phone patch radio work done during the Air Lite Deployment to Guam, Japan and Vietnam. He was employed as a letter carrier with the United States Postal Service for 30 years and worked at the Chicopee Falls Post Office, retiring in 1982. He had previously worked at Savage Arms in Westfield. While a resident of Chicopee, he was a communicant of Saint Anne Church in Fairview. Oscar was a member of the Branch 46 National Association of Letter Carriers and also was a local member and Past President of Branch 387 National Association of Letter Carriers in Chicopee. Oscar was very active with the Amateur Radio Association with the United States Call Sign of K1IYD, the United States Air Force Call Sign of AFA1IYD and the Australian Call Sign of VK1YD. He was a member of the American Radio Relay League, an honorary member of the Wireless Institute of Australia and a member of the Westlakes Amateur Radio Club in Teralba, New South Wales, Australia. He received an award from the American Red Cross for radio work performed during the Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964. Oscar received his pilot’s license and was a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Springfield Airport Solo Club and the Sydney Airman’s Club in Australia. Active in the City of Chicopee, Oscar was a member of the Aldenville American Legion Post 337, the Disabled American Veterans Post 19 and served as a Radio Officer and was appointed a Special Police Officer for the Chicopee Department of Civil Defense by former Mayor Edward Lysek. Above all, Oscar loved spending time with his family and his many friends. He was predeceased by his beloved wife and best friend, Betty Jean (Dodson) Hilbert who was Called Home on August 30, 2003. They were married on August 16, 1945 at Assumption Church in Muskogee, Oklahoma and were blessed over 58 years of happiness together. Oscar leaves his loving daughter, Nancy R. Woodard and her husband, John, of Port Orange, Florida; his five cherished grandchildren, Neil LeBeau and his wife, Raelene, Craig LeBeau and his wife, Heather, Scott LeBeau and his wife, Lavonia, Brandy Weidner and her husband, Lee, and Nicole Hogan and her husband, Ric; his seven cherished great-grandchildren, Taylor Hogan, Avonlea LeBeau, LeeAnna Weidner, Braeden LeBeau, Patrick LeBeau, Autumn Rae LeBeau and Nicholas LeBeau; his two dear brothers, Frederick Hilbert and Lea Ryan, Albert Fauteux and his wife, Jeannine; his two dear sisters, Rita Geoffroy and her husband, Arthur, and Mia Charland and her husband, Richard; his two dear step-brothers, Gary Fauteux and his wife, Joan, and Stephen Fauteux; and his many dear nephews, nieces, cousins, friends and extended members of the Hilbert and Dodson families. In addition to his parents and wife, he was also predeceased by his loving daughter, Martha J. Moon. His Funeral will be held on Friday morning, February 22, 2019 beginning at the St. Pierre – Phaneuf Aldenville Chapels, (413-532-9806), 13 Dale Street, Chicopee, MA 01020, (funeral home will be open at 8 a.m.), followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in Saint Anne Church, 30 College Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. His Burial with United States Army Military Honors will follow the Mass at Saint Patrick Cemetery, 168 Fuller Road, Chicopee, MA 01020. His family will receive friends at the funeral home on Thursday, February 21, 2019 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The parking lot and main entrance are located in the rear of the funeral home at 20 Lafayette Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. Memorial donations may be made in his memory to Halifax Hospice, 3800 Woodbriar Trail, Port Orange, FL 32129 . For more details, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com