Hope Kingsbury Register died Sunday Oct. 4 in Paoli, Pa., following a brief illness and long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was 85, and was a bright spot and adventurous soul who touched many during her lifetime.

She was born Hope Macintosh Kingsbury on Oct. 2, 1935, the first of two children to Frederick and Charlotte Kingsbury of Montclair, N.J. She attended the Kimberly School in Montclair, The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. and Vassar College.

In 1957 she married Kent R. Costikyan Jr. and spent the next two years living in Panama, Honduras, and Costa Rica. In 1959, they moved to the states, where they had three children while living in Tulsa, Okla., and Houston, Tex. A short time later, they returned to the Northeast, where they raised their children in Darien and New Canaan, Conn. Always active in her community, Hope taught nursery school at the Noroton Presbyterian church, served on the board of the Stamford-Norwalk Junior League, and later as president of the Lockwood Mathews Mansion Museum. In the mid 1970s, she went on to pursue a professional career in executive search.

In 1989, Hope married her second husband, Albert Layton Register 3rd and they became year-round residents of Edgartown. On the Island, Hope’s entrepreneurial spirit took over and she launched her catering business Hope for the Best. The business kept her busy for many years until she retired in the late 1990s. Hope and A.L. were fixtures in the community, both as parishioners and choir members of the Federated Church of Martha’s Vineyard. They were also longtime members of the Edgartown Yacht Club and the Reading Room.

Following the death of A.L, Hope was lucky enough to find another longtime partner in Joseph Whitney of Edgartown. Hope and Joe loved to travel and entertain friends and family. Some of their adventures took them to Alaska, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom.

One of Hope’s passions was her love of art. She followed in the artistic traditions of her grandfather Henry Meyer and mother Charlotte Wilshire. Surrounding herself with sketch pads, canvasses, and paint brushes, she painted all over the Island. Many of her works in oils, watercolors and pastels grace the walls of her home in Edgartown and her children’s homes.

She is survived by her brother Frederick H Kingsbury 3rd, of New Jersey; her children Kent Ransom Costikyan 3rd, of Stamford, Conn., Timothy Windsor Costikyan and his wife Donna, of Berwyn, Pa., Warren Kingsbury Costikyan and his wife Deirdre, of Norwalk, Conn.; stepchildren Croft Register, Candice Register Langford, and Frederick Layton Register; and five grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at the Tower Hill cemetery in Edgartown on Nov. 7 at 1 p.m.

Donations can be made to the Martha’s Vineyard Art Association, P.O. Box 761, Edgartown, MA 02539, or via their website: oldsculpingallery.org.