Hilda M. M. Packard

     Hilda M. Packard, of Boise, died on April 21, from natural causes.

      She was born on August 3rd.,1925, in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada.

     She entered the nursing profession after college, working in Albany, N.Y. She started a family, had a daughter and son, and when the kids were seven and five years old, Hilda saw a nursing position open up at a well-known psychiatric hospital, The Brattleboro Retreat, in Brattleboro, Vt. She applied, got the job, and moved the family to Brattleboro in 1956.

In the next few years, she furthered her education and was promoted to Director of Nursing. She kept that position until 1980, when she chose to retire and move closer to her daughter and son who lived in Boise. After moving to Boise, she opened a macrame shop. She, also, worked as an RN at St. Al's Hospital and at lntermountain Hospital until she retired again in 1990!

     Hilda was a plant lover most of her life and, after moving to Boise,

She got her "Master Gardener" certification from U. of I. She was a long­ time member of local gardening clubs.

     Along with a daughter and son, Hilda had S grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren, all here in Ada County. She had a deep love of dogs and cats, both of which she had most of her life. Her animals really kept her motivated and at peace when life got crazy.

     Hilda, in her 80"s, got involved with an exercise and yoga group at the senior center and met many nice people, whom she often went out to coffee with after exercise. Those folks were very good friends. She did some traveling and yard saling with them, always coming home with "stuff"!

     Hilda was a long-time member of Mensa, always striving to be in the "know". She was an avid word puzzle solver, working on crosswords, 7 little words, the jumble and the cipher. She was always reading something; a book, magazine, newspaper, etc. She, also, wrote some articles in magazines and "Letters to the Editor" in newspapers. She had an opinion on most everything, be it politics, religion, social issues or personal issues and she was never afraid to speak her mind.

     Hilda was a very compassionate, loving person who "wouldn't hurt a fly". She was a good listener and a good teacher and will be missed by many.