F. Masil Hulse, born Sept. 24, 1922, in Top, Grant County, Ore., passed away on Sept. 15, 2015, in Salem, Ore. Her family homesteaded in Top, near John Day, but followed paying work to Kinzua, Ore., where she spent her grade school years. The family moved to Redmond, Ore., in 1937 where she graduated from high school in 1941 and went on to graduate from The Dalles Hospital Nursing School in 1944. She joined the Army Cadets and spent the remainder of World War II at Fort Lewis, Wash. At war’s end, she stayed on to care for injured soldiers and those returning from POW camps in the Pacific. Between 1946 and 1948, she held nursing positions in The Dalles and Salem.

In 1948, she married Bill Hulse of Dufur, Ore., and became a rancher’s wife, but never lost her passion for nursing. Many neighbors and friends gained great comfort and benefit from her medical attentions and wise spirit. She was always deeply proud of her donations of blood, one of which helped save the life of a newborn.

On Labor Day 1960, her two adopted sons, Danny age 10 and Dave age 7, found dynamite caps in an abandoned shed on a newly-leased ranch. As they were trying to open the container, the caps exploded. Three days later, as she special-nursed him, Danny died of his injuries. His little brother, Dave, became totally blind just before Christmas that year. They enrolled him in the School for the Blind in Salem and made many long trips between Dufur and Salem. To shorten those journeys, Bill enrolled in private pilot training and purchased a plane. In 1964, after reading a magazine article about a pilot passing away at the controls of a plane and his passenger not knowing how to land the craft, Masil immediately enrolled in pilot training and passed her solo license in March 1965.

After a 33-year marriage to Bill, in 1981 she moved to Hayden, Idaho, where she co-founded the Holo Center, a holistic healing service. She and her business partner, with minimal professional help, built the 3,000-square-foot post and beam building. At age 60, she began oil painting and later joined a cooperative art gallery. During this time period she became a licensed minister and over the 23 years the Center was open, she performed more than 100 weddings. After a long life of nursing and providing comfort to everyone and everything in sight, she moved to Salem to be near her son, Dave and his wife, Vera.

Masil was preceded in death by her parents, Basil E. Harrison and Grace V. Robinson Harrison; her sister, Vivian Campbell of Redmond, Ore.; her brother, Louis Harrison of Salt Lake City, Utah; and her son, Danny Hulse. This amazing woman is survived by her brother, Lyle Harrison and his wife, Patricia of Santa Teresa, N.M.; her son, Dave Hulse and his wife, Vera Randall of Salem; her daughter, Mary and her husband, Doug Brown of Hayden; three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; along with many nieces, nephews and cousins around the world.

After a brief illness, she journeyed on to be with her beloved God. A private ceremony was held at her adored Oregon coast on Sept. 21, 2015. Gifts in her honor may be given to the Wounded Warrior Project. Information can be found at www.woundedwarriorproject.org. Assisting the family is Virgil T. Golden Funeral Service.