Hurlbut, Ronald Leon Obituary (1941 - 2023)

Born Apr 28, 1941, Hurlbut, Ronald Leon attended Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove, CA. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Hurlbut, Ronald Leon.

Graduation Year	Class of 1959
Date of Birth	Apr 28, 1941
Date of Passing	Dec 12, 2023
About	Ron Hurlbut, resident of Fairfield, CA since 1984, died at home unexpectedly of a heart attack on December 12, 2023 at the age of 82. Ron was born in Detroit, Michigan on April 28, 1941 to Norine DuHamel. He was raised in Sacramento, California, graduated from Elk Grove High School ('77) and Sacramento State College in Civil Engineering. He won a National Science Foundation scholarship to study for a Ph.D. in engineering at UC Berkeley. While at Cal, he met and fell in love with Karen, who was a secretary at the school. Rethinking his plans, he exited UC Berkeley early with a Master’s degree, went to work for the City of Oakland and married Karen on September 25, 1965. Raising two sons together, they celebrated 50 years of marriage just months before she passed away in 2016. Ron worked for the City of Oakland for many years, eventually serving as City Engineer in the Public Works Department. He was a pioneer in traffic engineering and was part of the group that petitioned for the creation of the license and he received one of the first issued by the State of California. He also had roles in many of the major public construction projects in the east bay in that era, such as the development of BART mass transit and the construction of the Henry J Kaiser Convention Center. Ron served in the US Army Reserve during the Vietnam War, serving in a Civil Affairs unit based in Oakland. After almost 20 years at the City of Oakland, Ron went on to serve as the Director of Public Works for the City of Fairfield. Ron encouraged both his sons to participate in Boy Scouts, and he was proud they both earned their Eagle Scout awards. He was a long-time volunteer with the Scouts himself, serving many years as Troop Committee Chairman for Fairfield local Troop 853. After retiring as Director of Public Works, Ron went on to serve an additional three years with the City of Fairfield as the Assistant City Manager. Ron fully retired from the City of Fairfield after 18 years of service in 2002. Ron was a devoted father and avid RV camper. He loved to cook, often having his sons over for meals at his home. His biggest joy was spending time with his family and helping his sons with projects in their homes. He was a talented problem-solver, and excellent at planning and enjoyed spending time on the computer. He enjoyed road trips with his family and friends. In recent years, he made a mission of getting in better health by walking twice daily, eating right and using his Apple watch fitness challenges to bring even greater results. Throughout his retirement years he enjoyed his RV camping clubs where he often fixed meals to share. For the past 18 years, he spent several weeks each winter in Indio, California where he enjoyed the warm weather with friends who returned each year. Card-playing was a major activity for Ron and sitting around the campfire with his many friends. Ron was always ready to lend a hand. He will be missed by all who knew him. Ron is survived by his sons, Greg and John Hurlbut, daughter-in-law, Tammie Hurlbut, grandchildren: Alex Knott, Gavin and Hailey Hurlbut, and great-grandchildren Braxton 6 years old and Kayden just three months old, his sister-in-law, Charlotte Burman, and many nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his wife, Karen, his brother, Marvin and his parents. At his request, no services are planned. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Ronald Leon Hurlbut please visit our Sympathy Store.

Classmate Memories

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Joan Freyschlag '59 said:

Ron was always nice to me. He was a gentleman. So sorry to see that he has passed away. Joan Freyschlag Chaffin

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