A Philadelphia native, Dr. Hilferty lived in Haverford, Delaware County.

He graduated from West Catholic High School for Boys in 1935 and earned a degree in biology from St. Joseph's College, now St. Joseph's University, in 1939. He earned a medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University - Jefferson Medical College. His studies were interrupted by two years of active duty with the U.S. Army Air Corps.

Dr. Hilferty interned at the former Philadelphia General Hospital. He was the head of internal medicine at Mercy Fitzgerald, and his lifelong passion was training medical students. He retired in the mid-1990s.

Dr. Hilferty was an avid golfer and honorary life member of the Philadelphia Country Club. He was a director of Lansdowne Steel & Iron Co., a firm founded by his father.

Dr. Hilferty never married. He is survived by many nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. tomorrow at St. Denis Roman Catholic Church, 236 E. Eagle Rd., Havertown. Interment will be in St. Denis Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to the Sisters of Mercy, 515 Montgomery Ave., Merion Station, Pa. 19066.