Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Hibbert was adopted as an infant and brought up by his aunt, Mrs Melbro Jamieson (Aunt Didi). He credits her with his confidence and independence and his ‘get things done’ approach to life events. He tells how when he was due to leave Jamaica to travel abroad to university, Kingston was under curfew. Aunt Didi found the Jamaica Defense Force captain in charge and boldly told him that her boy had to get to the airport. They were allowed passage through.

Throughout his academic and professional life, Hibbert’s primary research was in probability, yet his life was a trajectory of improbable improbabilities. He studied at and earned credentials from the College of Arts, Sciences and Technologies (CAST), the University of the West Indies, The Polytechnic Institute of New York, New York University, Columbia University and Cambridge University (UK). Hibbert began his early career as a lecturer at CAST and ended his tenure as a professor at the College of New Jersey (recognized for his teaching twice) and Bucks County College of Pennsylvania. Hibbert held several patents.

His years of sports, discipline and camaraderie that he enjoyed with Boys Town in Kingston Jamaica had a profound effect on Hibbert’s life. For many years, Hibbert has volunteered, contributed to and ensured that other Jamaican youth have had similar rich opportunities. In the last decades, he has served on the Board of Trustees of the University of Technology in Kingston and has guided the academic progress of individual students.

One of the world’s premier cricket fans – Hibbert swore that at any given day and time, a major cricket match is being played somewhere on the planet. He was a fine left-handed batsman. In his later years, playing golf, that left-handedness (although he was otherwise right-handed) earned him some admiration. Hibbert was proud that he had visited cricket grounds in various parts of the world, including South Africa. He enjoyed soccer as well, making a pilgrimage to the home of Bocca Junior in Argentina. Having lived a phenomenal life, Hibbert leaves to celebrate it, his wife of over 50 years, Noreen Lois (Patrick); their children Moriba (Jenny) and Malene (Drew); grandchildren Anisa, Leola, Alex and Zasie; siblings Hector, Pearl, Blossom, Beverly, Errol, Basil and Monica; cousins Patrick, Valerie, Pam, Maurice; and so many decades-long cherished friends.