Eleanor "Mimi" Skinner Wainwright

Eleanor “Mimi” Skinner Wainwright, age 86, passed away peacefully on January 28, 2022, at her residence at Eastcastle Place. Mimi was born to Earl A. and Eleanor P. Skinner in Philadelphia, PA on February 2, 1935. She spent most of her childhood in Lansdowne, PA.

Mimi received her BA from Chatham College in Pittsburgh, PA (French Major and English Minor). Shortly thereafter, Mimi married William “Bill” Wainwright, the great love of her life, on June 28, 1958, with whom she was happily married for over 60 years until his passing in 2020.

While working and raising 2 children, Mimi went on to earn her master's degree in French at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. Over the years she worked as the assistant editor to The Mid-Western Banker magazine and editor to The Living Church magazine. She also spent many years lecturing at UWM in business writing while also tutoring students in French.

In addition to Mimi's professional achievements, she was a huge supporter of the arts. She spent countless hours visiting art museums around the world. She also had a great fondness for The Lyric Opera of Chicago among other performing arts. Mimi was a wonderful writer, skilled piano player, world traveler and a generous contributor to social concerns (Sojourner Family Peace Center, Hunger Task Force and Planned Parenthood, to name a few).

Mimi is survived by her sister Catherine “Kittsy” (Mac) Wells, daughters Rebecca Wainwright and Sarah (Steve) Nivaud, grandchildren Chantal (Seth) Karl and Nicholas (Alexis) Nivaud as well as great-granddaughter Claire Louise Karl.

The family would also like to greatly acknowledge the wonderful, caring people who surrounded Mimi with love in her last years.

A funeral service will be held at St. Mark's Episcopal church, 2618 N. Hackett Ave., Milwaukee on Saturday, May 21, 2022 at 1:00 PM. Memorial donations, in Mimi's honor, may be made to the Sojourner Family Peace Center-Milwaukee.