Asa Hilliard, a Manual High School graduate who went on to become an international educator, died unexpectedly Monday while at a conference in Cairo. He was 73.
No local services are planned.
Hilliard and his wife, Patsy Jo Hilliard, had lived in East Point, Ga., since 1980.
Hilliard was due to resume his job as professor of urban education at Georgia State University in Atlanta after he and his wife returned from Cairo.
The cause of death was unknown, said his daughter Patricia Hilliard-Nunn of Gainesville, Fla.
Asa Hilliard worked in education in the U.S. and abroad: He was on the faculty at San Francisco State University, where he later served as dean of education; was a consultant for the Peace Corps in Liberia; and had been superintendent of schools in Monrovia, Liberia.
He specialized in working with school districts, publishers, public advocacy organizations, government agencies and private corporations on African content in curriculum, teacher training and public policy. He also was a board-certified forensic examiner.
He was author of many articles on such subjects as African-American community socialization, promoting achievement among African-American students and socialization in the cultural wars.
Hilliard led many teaching missions over a 30-year period to Ghana and Egypt, lecturing on African history and the African diaspora.
A family man, Hilliard loved to cook biscuits and gravy and grilled cheese sandwiches for his kids and grandchildren, said his granddaughter Dayo Nunn. The grandchildren called him “Popeye,” and he called them the “Magnificent Seven.”
“He loved to clown around,” Nunn said. “He always enjoyed life.”
Asa Grant Hilliard III was born in Galveston, Texas, on Aug. 22, 1933, and moved with his family to Denver. He met his future wife, Patsy Jo Morrison, at Manual. They married on Nov. 16, 1957.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Denver and taught in Denver Public Schools before serving in the Army. After that, he earned his master’s in counseling and his doctorate in educational psychology at the University of Denver.
When the Hilliards were first married, he worked as a cook, bartender and railroad maintenance worker.
In addition to his wife and daughter Patricia, he is survived by another daughter, Robi Hilliard Herron of College Park, Ga.; two sons, Asa Hilliard IV of East Point and Michael Hakim Hilliard of Atlanta; and seven grandchildren.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com.
