Jordan Dexter Hilsenbeck April 10, 1965 – November 15, 2015

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“He was always cooler than we’ll ever be.” – Chris Hilsenbeck
Jordan, who split his time between California, New York and Colorado, was born in Boulder to Steve and Kate Hilsenbeck. For 50 years he wheeled his way through a life full of music, love and adventure, from the Hot Wheels he got for his first birthday through his banana bike, skateboard, first customized bicycle, Lambretta, Ducati, other bicycles, BMW and his fully restored ‘69 Porsche 911s. Jordan loved his wheels, family, friends, animal friends and guitars, in no hierarchical order. He split his youth between Boulder and Ulster County, New York where his father and stepmother Gail lived with their two sons. Jordan was a member of the band Happenstance, one of Boulder’s hot bands in the 1980s. In the late ‘80s, after a visit to his mother in San Francisco where the roses were blooming in December, he relocated to the Bay Area and lived there fully until his untimely death in his beloved “Sugar Car” Porsche while on a car rally in Napa Valley. He was an elegant, funny, warm and creative man. Whether designing websites or writing and performing music, his witty humor and generosity graced every occasion. On November 21st there was a large memorial gathering of his family and many friends at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, with simultaneous gatherings in Boulder and Ulster County. People came from as far away as Australia, and the testimonies, stories and tributes brought both tears and laughter. Jordan’s father preceded him in death; he is survived by his mother Kate Hilsenbeck, grandmother Gloria Hilsenbeck and her life-partner Jerry Peterson, step-parents John Many and Gail Hilsenbeck-Many, brothers Chris (Kristen) and Tyler (Kelly) Hilsenbeck, nephew Bodie and nieces Rose and Tenley, by his ladylove Kathleen Beckert and their dog Izzy, his friend Elizabeth Pfau, and a coterie of close friends who loved him to pieces. Rather than donate to a specific cause, with Jordan in mind, please offer support to a creative young person who could use a boost.