Powell City Council President Jim Hillberry died Tuesday in a four-wheeler accident. He was 83 and had served as a councilman for nearly 19 years.

Those who worked with him over the decades described Hillberry as an indefatigable champion of Powell.

“He just kept going and going, and didn’t slow down,” Mayor John Wetzel said Wednesday. “He worked tirelessly for the City of Powell, and this is a real loss.”

In April 2016, Hillberry suffered serious injuries in a different four-wheeler accident, after the vehicle tipped backwards off a ramp while he was loading it in a truck. Hillberry suffered head and neck injuries, but when no one ran for his Ward 1 seat, he filed for re-election while still recovering at the hospital.

“I don’t feel right about that,” he told the Tribune at the time, “Somebody needs to come forward.”

Zane Logan, who was Powell’s city administrator from 2005 until his retirement last year, recalled Hillberry as a “community person” and said it was a pleasure working with him.

“He was always there for his community,” Logan said. “He was one of those people who you could really count on to step up for Powell.”

Hillberry grew up in Worland and moved to Powell in the late 1970s, working at a number of banks here and in other communities. He also managed his family’s ranch in the Grass Creek area and, for a time, the Powell Bean Growers’ Cooperative.

He first ran for the Powell City Council in 1992, coming up short against John Muecke. However, when Muecke moved from the ward in early 2000, Hillberry was appointed to fill the seat. Hillberry was chosen from four candidates, with councilors citing his experience in economic development, as he served as president of a local business development group, Powell, Inc. Voters elected Hillberry to a four-year term later that year.

In 2004, Hillberry ran for mayor and lost to current City Councilman Scott Mangold.

However, Mangold reappointed him to the council in mid-2006, after Ward 1 Councilman Ray Carpenter resigned. Hillberry was then re-elected two more times, most recently in 2016.

He announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election in November.

Throughout his time on the council, Hillberry worked on a number of projects, including the city’s fiber internet system, Powellink, of which he was a vocal champion. He was also supportive of the Powell Aquatic Center and contributed to the city’s budgetary efforts to build what is now a $4 million safety net.

In addition to his time on the council, Hillberry served on a number of boards, including the Powell school board and, more recently, the Shoshone Municipal Pipeline Board.

A celebration of life will be held at Powell’s New Life Church at 2 p.m. Monday (click here for more information).