~ A True Masonic Hero ~

Jim Tresner, 33°, Grand Cross
PO Box 1019, Guthrie, Oklahoma 73044

Ill. Sam E. Hilburn is determined to make the world a better place for others, and he has the strength of will, the vision, and the raw, stubborn persistence to make it happen.

Such a man is Illustrious Brother Sam E. Hilburn, 33°, Grand Treasurer General of the Supreme Council and S.G.I.G. in Texas—and a man I deeply admire.

When Dr. John W. Boettjer, 33°, G.C., Managing Editor of the Scottish Rite Journal, asked me if I would write an article about Brother Hilburn for this special "Masonic Heroes" issue, I was delighted. Certainly, it is appropriate. Ill. Hilburn is truly a hero to many and most of all to Freemasonry and the Scottish Rite. A second purpose of this article is to mark the recent addition of Ill. Hilburn's portrait to the Scottish Rite Hall of Honor in the House of the Temple in Washington, D.C. The portrait is reproduced above and, in color, as the front cover of this issue.

I know Brother Sam as a friend, but I wanted more detail about his many careers for the proposed article. Accordingly, the staff of the Journal gathered up much of the information they have on file for Ill. Brother Sam (and it's a big file!), and sent copies of it to me. As suspected, I learned several things I hadn't known before.

The first was that he was born in Grandfield, Oklahoma, and has degrees in geology and petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma. (I always suspected there was an Oklahoma soul in that Texas boot.) The second thing I discovered was that the real Ill. Brother Sam wasn't in that paper file. Men who hang their portrait on the world don't easily fit into a file, however large.

Yes, there was impressive information on file—K.C.C.H. at age 40; Thirty-third Degree at age 52; Deputy of the Supreme Council at age 67; Grand Treasurer General at age 70. That's more than a little impressive. And The Voice of Scottish Rite Masonry in South Texas, a Texas Scottish Rite newsletter, said in 1988: "Brother Hilburn has served, or is a member of almost every known Masonic organization. He is Past Grand Sovereign of the Grand Imperial Council, Red Cross of Constantine, and is Texas' representative to the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. He is a Past Patron of Midland Chapter No. 253, Order of Eastern Star, and a Past Chapter Advisor of the Order of DeMolay, and has received the highest awards of DeMolay, the Cross of Honor and the Honorary Legion of Honor."

The article then goes on to list the facts that he was Grand Master of Texas in 1980, Grand Commander of Knights Templar in Texas in 1975, Chairman of the Finance Committee of both the Grand Encampment of the United States and of the Knights Templar Eye Foundation. There's a lot more, too.

But these titles and posts and honors still don't capture Brother Sam.

You may have read my article about his recent book, A Place of Miracles: The Legacy of the Rocker b, in the April 2000 issue of the Scottish Rite Journal. If he is to be captured in print, that book may come the closest to doing it, and that's because the book talks about freedom, personal initiative, and service to others. When my father spoke of "men who use their character as a nail, and hang their portraits on the world" he was speaking of men who determine to make the world a better place for others, men who have the strength of will, the vision, and the raw, stubborn persistence to make it happen—men like Brother Sam.

One of Ill. Sam E. Hilburn's great joys in life is benefiting Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, Dallas, where he is Chairman of the Board. Above, he gives a tour to hospital patient Megan, age 6.

That iron will showed clearly a few years ago, when Sam and his beloved wife, Millie, were in an automobile accident that very nearly cost their lives. Fortunately, Millie recovered quickly from her injuries, but for months no one was certain whether Sam would live or die (no one but Brother Hilburn, that is). And then the word was, "Well, it looks like he's going to make it, but he'll probably never be able to be out and around much again." They forgot to consult with him on that. Now, it honestly would not surprise me to see him bungee-jumping from the roof of the House of the Temple—especially if he thought it would help a child in some way.

For there is where his greatest passion lies. Illustrious Brother Sam E. Hilburn, 33°, Sovereign Grand Inspector General of Texas, Grand Treasurer General, Past Grand Sovereign of the Imperial Council, Past Grand Commander of the Texas Knights Templar, Past Grand Master, Past High Priest, Past Worshipful Master of the Texas Lodge of Research, Eminent Prior of Texas Priory No. 23, etc, etc., etc.—is a child. And other children know it.

He has devoted a large portion of his life, time, and energy to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. His face lights up when he sees the children in the hospital, and their faces light in return. In some way I cannot explain, they share their youth, he shares his wisdom, and both are richer. He has hung his portrait in thousands of young lives. Even though very few of the children know who he is when they see him, and fewer understand what he has done for them, they know he is important—in the same powerful but undefined way that Santa Claus, and their grandfathers, and Uncle Sam are important. And, even better, he's one of them!

Look at Brother Sam's portrait in the Scottish Rite Hall of Honor when you are next in the House of the Temple. But don't expect to find Ill. Brother Hilburn there, any more than he was in the sheaf of papers stuffed into the envelope sent me by the Journal staff. He's too big to be confined by either paint or print.

And he's having too much fun teaching children how to hang their own portraits on the world.

Jim Tresner is Director of the Masonic Leadership Institute and Editor of the Oklahoma Mason. A frequent contributor to the Scottish Rite Journal and its book review editor, Illustrious Brother Tresner is also a volunteer writer for the Oklahoma Scottish Rite Mason and a video script consultant for the National Masonic Renewal Committee. He is the Director of the Thirty-third Degree Conferral Team and Director of Work at the Guthrie Scottish Rite Temple in Guthrie, Oklahoma, as well as a life member of the Scottish Rite Research Society, author of Albert Pike, The Man Beyond the Monument, and a member of the steering committee of the Masonic Information Center. In 1997, Ill. Tresner was awarded the Grand Cross, the Scottish Rite's highest honor. His latest book is Vested in Glory, The Regalia of the Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.