Eleanor C. Meacham, 90, of Bainbridge Island, died April 1 at Swedish Hospital in Seattle.

She was born Dec. 22, 1913, in Vancouver, B.C., to Cliff and Lillian Watson.

Her family moved to Long Lake near Port Orchard to run a lumber mill, later moving to Phoenix, Ariz., where she graduated from high school. She then returned to her native Canada to acquire a nursing degree.

At age 26, she moved to Seward, Alaska to work as a registered nurse. It was here that she would meet her husband, William A. Meacham, an engineer and Naval Reserve officer. Wartime saw them stationed in Washington, D.C.; Annapolis, Md.; and California. They and their children settled at Port Madison on Bainbridge Island in 1946.

She was an independent spirit, always swift to defend the voiceless: the birds, otters and other wildlife. She always told stories of ocean exploration — storms in which the mast of the sailboat touched the water — and desert camping trips. Sailing to Alaska and exploring the Inside Passage and Puget Sound was a pastime which four generations of her family enjoyed.

The family also enjoyed mooring the sailboat at Port Angeles in the winter so they could ski and snowshoe Hurricane Ridge.

Beside sailing and canoeing the Northwest, she enjoyed hiking the Olympic Mountains, gardening, helping with 4-H projects, Girl Scouts, Campfire Girls and Boy Scouts. She worked as a relief nurse at the Winslow Clinic.

After her husband died in 1997, she lived alone at their “sandspit” cabin at Point Monroe, with her nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren enjoying summer visits. She helped organize the annual 4th of July celebration that included a community parade and a 21-gun salute.

She is survived by children William (Colleen) Meacham of Kirkland, Mike (Connie) Meacham of Anchorage, Kathleen (Peter) Turner of Seattle, and Pat Pasini of Helena, Mont.

A gathering of family and friends was held April 4.