A Tribute To Sonny Hildebrand 

It is with a saddened heart and a tear in my eye that I speak today. Dorothy and 
I, Maryland Chapter A, and Sonny's extended GWRRA family have lost a very dear 
friend. To Dorothy and me, Sonny was more than a friend, we loved Sonny. It is 
hard to understand how you can say you love a person when you have only known 
that person for a few short years, but, in Sonny's case it is easy. Sonny had a 
quality about him that was not pretentious, just very relaxed. He was a very 
caring and thoughtful person. He had a good sense of humor and enjoyed working 
on motorcycles, cars, and anything mechanical. He also had a serious side, took 
an interest in his friends, and cared about them very much. 

I would like to relate a few things about Sonny that some of you may not know. 
My first association with Sonny was about three years ago when he joined our 
Goldwing motorcycle chapter. At first, Sonny was quiet and a little apprehensive 
about jumping into the Chapter A activities. We later learned that he had some 
bad experiences with other motorcycle groups in which he realized his idea of 
having fun did not fit with theirs. It was not long before he felt he found a 
new home and many friends. 

Once he got started, he was like a dynamo. He took on our Chapter A 50/50 sales 
and the position of Maryland District Logistics Coordinator. As the District 
Logistics Coordinator, Sonny brought more revenue into the district that anyone 
had before him. He could sell ice to Eskimos. 

In Chapter A Sonny was always, available to help you out with a motorcycle 
related task or problem from installing lights on Sandie Rosenthal's Pacific 
Coast to working with Tom McCormick on his trike. If it involved working with 
his hands, he loved to get involved . Just look at his own trike, a 400 cubic 
inch engine , 700 horsepower and two Holley 4-barrels. When Sonny's trike was 
around, no one wanted to look at our Goldwing motorcycles even with all the 
lights and gadgets. He also joined in the fun of making Mardi Gras masks for the 
District's Winter Thing Rally in Ocean City, Maryland.  

Sonny was more than just an ace mechanic. He had a great sense of fun, enjoyed a 
joke, and enjoyed playing jokes on his friends. For example, last year at our 
Winter Thing Rally in Ocean City, each chapter was given the opportunity to set 
up a display table to promote their activities. Our Chapter A table had the 
usual fund raising information for the Ride for Kids and our annual Bowl-a-Thon. 
Chapter B however had a big display of stuffed toy bees, their Chapter mascot. 
Chapter B also had a three-foot tall doll dressed in black and yellow stripes 
and antennas on the head like a bumblebee. Sonny gave me a mischievous look; we 
walked over to the bees and tumbled them up in a big pile. Next Sonny took the 
Doll, bent it over a chair and pulled its pants down to its ankles so it looked 
as if it was mooning the crowd. When the Director of Chapter B saw the doll, 
everyone was laughing. He naturally looked at Sonny and me, shook his head, and 
said Oh you guys! Of course, Sonny and I were just busy with innocent faces 
asking "What Doll?"  

Sonny liked to have fun on his trike too. We were on our way to visit another 
Chapter in Waldorf, Maryland. Sonny was riding behind me and we were the last 
two bikes in line. We were caught at a red light. As we were waiting for the 
light to change, Sonny pulled beside me and revved his engine. When the light 
changed, we took off as fast as we could, Sonny left me in the dust. Later when 
we stopped, Sonny smiled and said, "Now didn't that remind you of when you were 
17 years old and you were racing for pink slips"? I had to admit it did even if 
I did feel a little guilty about riding so fast. 

Sonny also talked to me about his friend Billy and how they did things together 
over the years. Sonny liked to say that he and Billy had a lasting friendship 
and that they were as close as brothers. True friendship meant a lot to Sonny. 
He treasured his friends and he himself was a true friend. 

I could go on and on about how Sonny's involvement in Dorothy and my lives has 
enriched us ten fold but I won't. I would just like to say "we miss you dear 
friend and remember you with fondness. We know that you are at peace and that 
this time when you saw the bright white light the door stayed open for you. We 
know because we talked about it and the journey to the hereafter". 

Goodbye and We Love You.