Born in Los Angeles, California, son of Rader John Hilbe (1910-1980) and Nadyne Anderson Hilbe (1910-1988), Hilbe was raised in Arcadia, CA, attended three years of high school at Woodside Priory School in Portola Valley, CA, before graduating from Paradise, CA high school in 1962 [REF].
Hilbe secured a position at the University of Hawaii, where he retired as an emeritus professor of philosophy in 1990.