Daniel Eugene “Dan” Hulbert

Age 73, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, passed away on Monday, May 12, 2025. Dan was born on May 21, 1951, in Lincoln, Nebraska, to Eugene Frederick Hulbert and Mary Margaret (Pierson-Renner) Hulbert. He married Barb Zima on June 19, 1976, in Denmark, Wisconsin. In addition to his wife, Dan is survived by his three children: Joe and Peter of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Ben (Kate) of Madison, Wisconsin; two grandchildren, Sam and Anna; and his two sisters, Susan Perina and Kathy Engberg of Omaha, Nebraska. Dan is preceded in death by his parents.

 Dan lived for those he loved, putting everything aside to help anyone in need. This spirit of loving generosity was the foundation of his 48-year marriage to his wife and best friend, Barb. He supported her through the tragic loss of her parents early in their marriage and was also an adored father, always prioritizing his children above all else.

Being the son of a librarian, Dan cherished his late mother and honored her each day with his voracious appetite for books and his advocacy for literacy and the creative arts. After graduating from high school, his commitment to education took him to Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, where he studied Radio, Television, and Communications. His creative curiosity served him well throughout his career, fostering the resilience needed to navigate a path that began with using razor blades to cut magnetic tape in the analog radio stations of rural Iowa and evolved into pulling media feeds from satellites for the morning news for the cities of Green Bay, Appleton, and the Fox Valley, all the way to the wholly virtual era of digital TV in the urban metropolis of Milwaukee.

Dan was an unwavering champion of the working class and the great city of Milwaukee: nothing made him happier than celebrating a day of hard work by changing into a freshly free T-shirt, dropping the needle on a Rolling Stones record, and slamming an ice-cold Miller High Life. His favorite type of labor was anything outside, ideally in the forests of Vilas County, where he and Barb had a cabin. He was always happiest with Barb at the cabin, where he would mark the passing of each season by hosting family gatherings and cooking incredible meals for whoever was around–whether it was Barb, his kids, the grandkids, or his beloved pack of sheepdogs (Artie, Luna, Big Ern). He lived each day with steadfast motion, rooted in loving kindness; a nearly perfect rhythm for caring for all the people and creatures he loved, be it his wife, the kids, the wildflowers in the yard, or watering his favorite apple tree, “Harvey.”

 Per Dan’s wishes, he wanted no fuss or funeral decorum to be made of his passing. The family asks for respect for his wishes, and that in place of flowers, donations should be made in his honor to his favorite community organization, Forward Scholars.