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Conrad Hilberry, beloved Kalamazoo College English professor and poet, died Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. He was 88.

(Courtesy Kalamazoo College)

KALAMAZOO, MI-- Poet and Kalamazoo College professor Conrad Hilberry died in Kalamazoo Wednesday, Jan. 11 from complications of cancer and pneumonia, the college confirmed Thursday morning.

He was 88.

Hilberry came to Kalamazoo College in 1962, where he taught poetry, literature and writing until his retirement in 1998, according to the college website.

He earned his B.A. at Oberlin College in Ohio and his M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin.

Hilberry wrote 11 volumes of poetry, his latest "Until the Moon Has Its Say," published in 2014.

He also is credited with helping many prominent writers launch their careers.Being a Pulitzer finalist 'so outside anything I ever imagined'

Diane Seuss, named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in poetry last April, said at the time: "I never expected to publish, let alone make a dime or gain notice or acclaim. If I hadn't been encouraged for years to publish by my mentor, poet Conrad Hilberry, I probably would have kept writing but hid the poems under the bed, like Emily Dickinson."

Seuss is an assistant professor of English at Kalamazoo College and was named a Pulitzer finalist for her third book, Four-Legged Girl.

A remarkable teacher, Hilberry was "entirely and joyfully at home in the 'arches and vaults' of the liberal arts," said Jim Van Sweden, director of the Office of Communications at Kalamazoo College. "He continually sought inspiration for his own work, both his teaching and his poetry, in the subject matters of his colleagues and friends."

Hilberry's wife, Marion, died on April 8, 2008.

More information about funeral arrangements and Hilberry's survivors was not immediately available.