Oscar Roy Hillig

Oscar Roy John Hillig passed away at his home on January 6, 2015 in Thousand Oaks, California due a lengthy illness. He was 83 years old.

Oscar was born on December 6, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois to his parents, Otto and Merry Hillig. His parents immigrated to the United States from Denmark and he always kept his Danish heritage close to his heart. He graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physics, later concentrating on Nuclear Physics. He worked at Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago, Illinois with his dad where they were instrumental in the creation of the first nuclear reactor. He moved to California in 1956 and worked at North American where he started up the atomic reactors at Walter Reid in Washington DC and the "pebble" reactor in Aachen, Germany. In 1982, his career moved to alternative sources of energy working with the Department of Energy. He retired in 1992 from Rockwell International after a 41 year career.

Oscar is survived by his wife, Cathy Hillig; his children, their spouses and their family respectively; Heidi Roleder, Dale, Zackary and Carly; Wendy Kubond, Brian, Bryce, and Brett; Erich Hillig, Dana, Ashley, and Courtney; Trudi Babich, Roger, Jake, Sandy and Gary; Kim Gianinni, Tony, Tyler and Brenna; Christine Wiemero, Matthew, Wyatt and Cash; grandchildren Aubree Lotko and Ryan Zeller. He is preceded in death by his sister, Rita Schwerin; and his daughter, Cheri Zeller.

A celebration of life memorial service will take place on January 16 at 12:30 p.m. at Rose Family Funeral Home, 4444 Cochran Street, Simi Valley. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to Cancer Research, Hospice Care or a related charity of your choice.