Mary Alice Hilbert, 87, passed away Jan. 1, 2010.

Affectionately known as “Mickie” to her friends, she was born on June 27, 1922 in Jamestown, N.D. She spent her childhood on the family’s 480-acre farm, and was an adventuresome tomboy, riding her first horse before she could walk.

Always intellectually curious, she was skipped several grades. After the Great Depression and the Midwest dust bowls, in 1936 the family moved to Seattle. She graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1940.

In 1944 she married her beloved husband Leighton, who cared for his “Princess” and the love of his life for almost 64 years, until his final breath in 2008.

After raising three children, they moved to Whidbey Island, and lived 45 years in the Mutiny Sands waterfront community, spending summers in their log cabin on a private island near Tofino, British Columbia, and winters in Desert Hot Springs and Hemet, Calif.

She was a lifelong lover of nature and its many wonders, and an avid beachcomber. She attended the University of Washington and was a prolific writer, penning two books, poems, hundreds of published articles and short stories. Her most famous story was “A Sandpiper To Bring You Joy,” published in Reader’s Digest and, in the collection, “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” It was also republished worldwide, and made into a movie.

She is survived by her brother Harold (Myra) Sherman, and children Roger (Cheryl) Hilbert, Patsy Hilbert and Leigh Hilbert. She is also survived by seven grandchildren: Darren (Tedra) Grant, Brandon (Annie) Hilbert, Shelly (Sebastian) Silva, Waverly (Gulliver) Swenson, Jesse (Rebecca) Hilbert, Jaime Hilbert (Kym Thrift) and Chelsea Hilbert; as well as six great-grandchildren: Sage, Saiya, Ivy, Annabelle, Adelaide and Melody.

She was preceded in death by her husband Leighton, parents Isabel and Raymond Sherman, and her brother Robert.

A graveside service will be held at 2 p.m., Monday, Jan. 11 at Acacia Memorial Park, 14951 Bothell Way NE, Seattle.

In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the Nature Conservancy or Sierra Club.