Shirley Ann Hilden, 74, of Brush Prairie, Wash., died on Nov. 17, 2014, at Ray Hickey Hospice House in Vancouver, Wash.

Shirley, daughter of Joseph and Olga Molden Hilden, grew up on a farm near Watson, Minn. and graduated with honors from Montevideo High School in 1958. She played the alto saxophone in band, took parts in World Affairs Club, and became an accomplished pianist. She graduated magna cum laude from St. Olaf College, majoring in biology and chemistry, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa honors society. While pursuing her doctorate in cell physiology at Stanford University, Shirley collected sea urchins on the California coast for study. She did research as a post-doctoral fellow at Hokkaido University in Japan, University of Wisconsin – Madison, and Universidade de Coimbra in Portugal.

For the following three-plus decades, Shirley worked as a research scientist and administrator at the National Institute of Aging in Baltimore, New England Medical Center in Boston, and the Center for Scientific Review at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., specializing in urology and nephrology. Her dedication to research was prompted, in part, by the death of her younger brother, Aaron, from leukemia when she was 11. Shirley retired in 2009.

Shirley’s twin enthusiasms for travel and photography began with a family trip to Yellowstone National Park while she was in high school. Later highlights were a safari in Serengeti National Park; the leper colony at Molokai, Hawaii; the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany; a helicopter tour of Alaskan glaciers; a cruise up Sognefjord in Norway; and Ayers Rocks in the Australian outback. She visited family in Montevideo annually, catching up with cousins and her aunt, Sylvia Hacker. Shirley’s last trip was to the Grand Canyon in October 2013. Poor health prevented her from seeing the ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, which had been a dear wish.

Shirley was an avid hobbyist with interests including bonsai, ikebana, sewing, and basket making. She was a lifelong collector, spanning kaleidoscopes to netsuke, but focusing her passion on crèche in later years. Shirley was thrilled to discover the Friends of the Crèche society in 2002, through which she attended lectures, took classes, and traveled to conventions. She was particularly drawn to unusual representations from other cultures, displaying them year-round with artistic flair.

Shirley was close to her family. She arrived at Christmas with a new handmade ornament for everyone, as well as the latest electronic gadget that had caught her eye – and krumkake for Christmas Eve dessert. Her door was always open for family visits, which many times coincided with cherry blossom season in Washington, D.C. Shirley took pleasure in showing visitors the capital: monuments, the National Art Museum, exhibits, and restaurants. Her many friends enjoyed her company, at plays and concerts as well as on travels.

When Shirley developed mantle cell lymphoma, she was gratified that she qualified to participate in a clinical trial. She achieved remission twice. With the third onset, she moved to Vancouver in May 2014 to be near family.

Shirley loved to read and learn. She was patient and kind, open and accepting. We all miss her.