About:

Hildegarde Flax-Shaw

Hildegarde Flax-Shaw was born on the island of Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands but has lived most of her life in the United States where she traveled to further her education. She has indulged in her vocation of nursing for the last fifty years and regards it as the “passion” of her life. She says with great conviction that she would not have done anything else with her life!

Academic achievements include a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Phoenix, as well as several other professional certifications, including one as a Certified Post Anesthesia Nurse. She has worked in the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, Cardiac Care Unit and currently in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit. She has volunteered for many years in various capacities at her place of employment but her greatest satisfaction in the volunteer arena has been the many years in which she has given freely of her time to work in a dirt-floored clinic in one of the most poverty-stricken villages of Tijuana, Mexico.   

She has spent her entire life actively involved in her church, singing in the choir, and participating on various committees, as a member or Chairperson. For seven years she was the Leader of her church’s United Methodist Women. Additionally, for the last 32 years Hildegarde has sung first soprano in an annual Advent production of George Frederic Handel’s “Messiah.”

Her other passion is world travel, and she has been privileged to travel and experience the culture of many countries throughout the world. She also loves cooking and gardening and is a voracious reader. She loves being transported to distant places simply by turning the pages of a book. Her love of books was born in her childhood home, and she has amassed hundreds of books which now line the shelves of her library. She is a member of Goodreads and Oprah’s Book Club. 

Hildegarde’s love of writing was fostered by her professors in her nursing program, who encouraged her to write for publication.  As she nears retirement, she looks forward with great anticipation to the publication of her first book, “Sharing A Fly Wing,” which is a memoir of her days as a young girl living on an undeveloped Virgin Gorda. The intriguing title of her book is also a tribute to her mother, Eda Flax, now deceased, who taught her and her siblings the importance of sharing everything even though it were as small as a “fly wing.” She plans to continue writing, with two other books currently in progress.

Hildegarde is a widow with two of her own children, Gayle and Dana, a stepson, Denny, six grandchildren and three great grandchildren. She lives in southern California.