Erwin Hiebert died in Waltham, Massachusetts in November 2012, shortly after his wife of 69 years died in September 2012. He was survived by their two daughters, Catherine and Margaret, a son Thomas, and seven grandchildren. Catherine Hiebert Beissinger became a professor of Slavic languages and literatures at Princeton University. Thomas Hiebert became a professor of music at California State University, Fresno.