Adelaide Hinton, hospital administrator

ADELAIDE Jackson Hinton didn't know how to retire.

Her first retirement, in 1987, was from the former Daroff division of the Albert Einstein Medical Center, where she was acting general director.

That didn't last long. She was lured to the Neumann Medical Center, formerly St. Mary's Kensington Hospital, and helped bring it back from near-bankruptcy.

"Retiring" again in 1990, she moved to Florida, where she was busier than ever working with a shelter for abused women, running a string ensemble and mentoring high-school students, among other activities.

Adelaide Hinton died suddenly Wednesday. She was 74 and was living in Spring Hill, Fla., but had lived most of her life in Philadelphia.

Niki, as she was called by family and friends, spent her career in the health-service field. After graduating at the top of her class from the Albert Einstein School of Nursing, in 1957, she became an instructor in the nursing school and nursing supervisor at the Daroff division, in South Philadelphia.

In 1969, she became the first African-American woman to become director of nursing at a Philadelphia-area hospital. She rose through the ranks of hospital administration, becoming the deputy general director, risk-management officer and finally acting general director of the Daroff division.

After her time at Neumann, she and her husband, Charles Hinton, called "Sonny," became "snow birds," spending summers in Philly and the cold months in Florida.

In Spring Hill, she joined the board of the Down Center, a shelter for abused women, and became president of the Charlotte Murrin Suzuki String Ensemble, a consultant to the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), a volunteer tax preparer for AARP and a mentor to students of the Springstead High School.

Niki and her husband were avid travelers. They cruised to Alaska, the Panama Canal, through the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, the Hawaiian Islands, the Baltic Sea and elsewhere.

They made an annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas.

Niki was born in Philadelphia and graduated from John Bartram High School, in 1954. She married Charles Hinton in October 1956.

"Niki loved to entertain and opened her home to lifelong friends and new friends alike," her family said. "Nobody was a stranger to her.

"She believed in giving back, and countless people have been the recipient of her mentorship."

Besides her husband, she is survived by two daughters, Marcia Hinton and Cynthia Hinton Richards; a brother, Theodore Allen, and two grandchildren.

Services: Memorial service will be held in Spring Hill, Fla., on Jan. 10. A memorial service in Philadelphia in the summer is being planned.