The surrogate
It begins with a woman who yearns for a baby and another who is willing and able to give her one. You can imagine the motives of the prospective parents. But what about the woman willing to carry a baby, give birth and then walk away?
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BEACH PARK — Traffic jams inspire some people to curse, complain or lean on their horns.
A nasty traffic jam inspired Howard Hoyt Hilton to become a popular author of mystery novels.
In the late 1970s, Mr. Hilton, who was already one of Tampa's most prominent advertising executives, was on a business trip to Massachusetts. In the tunnel that links Cambridge to Boston, traffic came to a standstill. Nobody moved for what seemed like an eternity. Mr. Hilton got out of his car to use a nearby emergency phone, but it was out of order.
"That's when he got the idea, and he made up a story," said his wife, Dorothy.
In 1980, the first of Mr. Hilton's novels was published: The Endless Tunnel. It was his first attempt at writing a book, but far from his last. He published about half a dozen more thrillers, with such titles as Dreadnought's Curse and The Outback Murders.
Mr. Hilton died Sunday (Aug. 24, 2008) after a short illness. He was 82.
For many people, being a successful novelist would have been the culmination of their life's work. For Mr. Hoyt, it was just one facet of a life marked by consistent achievement.
Mr. Hilton and his wife started dating in 1947 and married seven months later. They moved to the Tampa Bay area shortly thereafter. Mr. Hilton had started as an advertising copywriter for Maas Brothers department store in Tampa and later became advertising director for the entire chain.
In 1960, he started the Howard H. Hilton Advertising Agency.
Business took him all over the country. His wife often came along, especially after their three children were grown.
"While these travels were necessary, he was willing to do so only because Dottie was able to travel with him on most trips," Mr. Hilton wrote in an obituary he had prepared about himself.
Despite his travels, he remained devoted to Tampa.
In the 1950s, he and six other executives formed the Tampa Plan Committee. Downtown Tampa's riverfront was dominated by railroad yards and warehouses. The committee sparked a movement to rid the riverfront of unsightly structures, making way for arts-oriented redevelopment.
He later designed, wrote, produced and directed the opening and halftime ceremonies for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' first home game.
Not all his efforts to boost Tampa were so auspicious, though.
In 1958, he organized the "Snow Show," an attempt at bringing a northern-style Christmas to Tampa. Mr. Hilton bought huge amounts of chipped ice from local shrimp companies and hired builders to create a ski slope on Franklin Street.
"It was around Thanksgiving, the start of the Christmas season," his wife said. "The problem was, it was hot that day — 92 degrees."
Hundreds of people showed up, but the ice melted before they could have any fun. There was enough left so that kids could make snowballs, which resulted in lots of broken store windows.
To top it off, Snow Show officials found out that Santa Claus was drunk. They fired him, found a replacement and arranged for him to change into his costume in a downtown clothing store.
At the end of the day, the replacement Santa remained in the store, unnoticed. That night he tunneled under the store and burglarized the adjacent jewelry store.
It was the only major flop of Mr. Hilton's life, but after some time had passed, he delighted in retelling the story and laughing about it with friends.
What was much more important to Mr. Hilton, his wife said, was that he lived long enough to see downtown Tampa finally blossom again. "He loved Tampa," Dorothy Hilton said. "I don't really know why. I wish he was here to tell us."
Besides his wife, Mr. Hilton is survived by his sons Howard III and Rodney; daughter Leslie; five grandchildren; one great-grandson; and a sister, Caroline Young of San Francisco. A celebration of life service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. John's Episcopal Church, 906 S Orleans Ave.
[Last modified: Aug 28, 2008 04:31 AM]
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