Rev. James Leroy Hilde, son of Rev. and Mrs. Selmer O. Hilde, was born on December 6, 1935, in Camrose, Alberta, Canada and was baptized on Christmas Day, 1935, by his father. He was confi rmed at the Lutheran Church in 1949 at Michigan, ND, and graduated from Michigan High School in 1953.
He received his BA degree from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, in June 1957, and was also married to Betty Peterson that month. He received the degree of Bachelor of Theology from Luther Theological Seminary, St. Paul, MN, in May, 1961, and was ordained August 27, 1961, at Stillwater, MN.
He served Emmanuel Lutheran at rural Beatrice, NE, from September 1961 to January 1967, Immanuel Lutheran, Coleridge, NE, from January 1967 to December 1972, and the Trinity Lutheran and Anselm Trinity Lutheran Parish, Enderlin, ND, from January 1973 to August 1996. He moved to Fargo, ND, and was a chaplain at MeritCare Hospital in Fargo from October 1996 until December 2000, at which time he retired.
He is currently a member of the Board of Directors, Vice President, and newsletter editor for the Northern Plains Botanic Garden Society in Fargo, ND. His wife, Betty, died in May 1993. Their daughter, Alisa, also resides in Fargo.