Hilda Ives Wiley grew up in Pemaquid, Maine, the daughter of Rev. Bob Ives and Ruth Ives. The Ives founded the Carpenter’s Boat Shop, a wooden boat building program dedicated to nurturing and enriching lives, living in community, and serving others. Hilda’s early years were enriched by the program’s participants, who lived on their property and shared every meal with Hilda’s family.
Hilda attended Wesleyan University in Connecticut, majoring in psychology and sociology, where she met her husband, Peter Wiley. After college, Hilda began her career at a therapeutic preschool program in North Carolina, which solidified her intended career path in school psychology. She went on to earn her master’s and doctoral degrees in educational psychology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She spent her first year as a practicing psychologist in the Boston, Massachusetts public schools before settling in Brunswick, Maine in 2007. Hilda joined the Brunswick public schools in 2012 as a school psychologist, working at Kate Furbish and Harriett Beecher Stowe elementary schools.
Hilda loved helping students reach their full potential as learners while advising their teachers and parents along the way. She was a recipient of the Christopher Kaufman Award from the Maine Association of School Psychologists. Hilda’s qualities aligned perfectly with the selection criteria: a dedicated clinician, an advocate for students and teachers, an impassioned champion of education, and a kind and generous soul.
Hilda volunteered as an educational surrogate for several children in the foster care system. Hilda also volunteered for many years on the Board of Directors of the Carpenter’s Boat Shop and served for 6 years as a member of Brunswick’s First Parish Church Council.
She had a passion for travel that began when she and her family lived in Scotland during her sophomore year in high school. During college, she spent a summer in England and a semester in France. Hilda cherished many trips taken with Peter and their children, from Guatemala to national parks to all-inclusive resorts.
Hilda had an incredibly positive spirit, a charismatic presence, and was quick to laugh. She loved being a mother to her three children and treating them to ice cream, spending summer days at a swimming hole, or playing another round of a game. With boundless energy and patience, Hilda balanced her career with managing their busy family schedule.
Hilda passed away in March of 2024, at the age of 46, from colon cancer. She had no regrets about her life. She seized opportunities to travel often, dine out on some wonderful meals, and treat herself occasionally rather than delay all such things for retirement or “someday.”
Awards from this fund are based on student financial need, after which recipients are requested to be graduates of Brunswick High School who have received special education services.