Ralph Hilgendorf, who helped others learn to live with blindness, dies at 88 "He's kind of the poster child for overcoming adversity," Dhaivyd Hilgendorf said of his father. July 3, 2021 — 5:09pm Text size Copy shortlink: People recognized Ralph Hilgendorf in St. Paul because he was the type of man who liked to be busy. He walked to work each day from his home in the Hamline Midway neighborhood, he made frequent trips to the hardware store and he often joined marches in the Twin Cities to protest war and violence. Some may never have realized Hilgendorf was blind, his children said. "He's kind of the poster child for overcoming adversity," Dhaivyd Hilgendorf said of his father, who died June 7 at 88.