Obituary of Wayne Hilinski

Wayne Hilinski (July 28, 1939 - February 25, 2012) Wayne Hilinski, retired senior lecturer in advertising and public relations at Penn State, passed away at the age of 72 on February 25, 2012, in State College, PA. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 2, 2012, at 2 p.m. near the Three Ladies Statue at Boalsburg Cemetery, Route 322 in Boalsburg, PA. Wayne Joseph Hilinski was born on July 28, 1939, in Philadelphia, the only child of Joseph and Freda Hilinski. He graduated from Penn State with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1962 and went on to earn a master's degree in advertising from the University of Illinois in 1965. During his time as a student at Penn State, Hilinski was business manager at The Daily Collegian, as well as a member of the Advertising Club, Parmi Nous and Omicron Delta Kappa. Hilinski fulfilled a lifelong dream when he returned to Penn State in 1996 as a senior lecturer. He served as adviser to the award-winning American Advertising Federation team and the Penn State Ad Club. In 1999, as yet another way to give back to the University, he donated $25,000 to the College of Communications to establish Penn State's first fully endowed scholarship in advertising. Hilinski served on the College of Communications Alumni Society Board and the boards of the Collegian Alumni Interest Group (AIG) and Collegian, Inc., and he was an active member for the Parmi Nous AIG. In 2005, Hilinski was named an Alumnus of Distinction by the Parmi Nous AIG. Prior to returning to Penn State and State College, Hilinski had a notable career as a copywriter and creative director in advertising agencies including McCann-Erickson (Toronto), Leo Burnett (Toronto and Chicago), HMS Partners (Columbus, OH) and Collier & Park Group (Toronto). For a number of years, he also headed his own agency, Hilinski Associates in Boston. He received more than 100 regional, national and international advertising awards and was inducted into the Canadian Outdoor Advertising Hall of Fame. Hilinski is survived by his cousins Bruce Belzak of Haverford, PA, and Byron Belzak of Fletcher, NC, as well as loving friends in State College and throughout the U.S. and Canada Memorial donations may be sent to The Wayne Hilinski Advertising Scholarship, c/o Pennsylvania State University, 27 Old Main, University Park, PA 16802-1500. Checks should be made payable to Pennsylvania State University and include a notation indicating "In memory of Wayne Hilinski." Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com.