MIMI PRENTICE Obituary

PRENTICE--Mimi Walters,

dancer, singer, actress and loving wife, passed away on November 16th in New York City. First dancing professionally at the age of three or four, Ms. Prentice performed on Broadway in "Annie Get Your Gun," and toured with Guy Lombardo and his band. She also acted in television commercials and appeared in Bonanza. In 1968 she became the first woman Account-Executive at the Wilding Firm in New York City, where she worked for two years. Then she met and married the love of her life, the late Spelman Prentice, a grandson of John D. Rockefeller. She is survived by five step-children, sixteen step- grandchildren, and twenty two great-grandchildren. She was a private, perceptive, loyal, feisty, and loving woman with a great deal of presence. She will be missed. A memorial service will be held at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel at 81st Street and Madison Ave on Friday, November 21st at 11am. Donations can be made in in her memory to The Intercollegiate Studies Institute.

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Published by New York Times from Nov. 20 to Nov. 23, 2014.

Memories and Condolences
for MIMI PRENTICE

14 Entries

Dave Lehman

February 12, 2025

Sadly, a relative I never met.

January 18, 2015

Dear Mimi,
Just learned of your passing and hope that you and my mom, Marie, are brushing up on your first routine of tap dancing on roller skates while twirling batons. BFF

Your theatre successes were my motivation. After we saw you in "Annie Get Your Gun" in Chicago, I got hooked on theatre all through high school and in college where I met my wife of 48 years onstage.

We wish you many white roses.

You are the best Annie OKley ever.

Love and peace,
Cy Kennedy, Wheaton, Il

November 24, 2014

"Dance ballerina dance"
with love,
Joanne Barrett Palmer

November 21, 2014

Serena Palmer

November 21, 2014

Mims, on your birthday...
I know you wouldn't have wanted a long, drawn-out parting, & I'm glad you didn't have to deal with further pains & limitations - which I know you didn't like at all. I'm also happy you're off to meet Spel who, I know, has been eagerly waiting for you... But I selfishly wish I had had more time...to be ready to let you go (which I so wasn't). One last visit, one last birthday, one last phone call...There's so much I was longing to talk to you about; & I so wish I'd had the chance to explain why I was so out of touch this year.
I hope you know how dearly you will be missed.
You were my loving grandmother since the very day I was born, when mom & dad brought me back from the hospital to your home with Spel, in San Rafael. You have been ever present in my life since then. So many thing's you've taught me, advice you've given me, memories we've built together...So much love. I don't even know where to begin to miss you most.
You are forever a part of who I am, & I will miss you always.

Constance Booth

November 21, 2014

Thinking of Mimi today.

Having only met her a handful of times, Mimi for us was to a magical great-grandmother, who lived in New York and carried a spare pair of shoes in her handbag. She showed me this once in Tangiers and I remember wishing that my feet were petite enough to have such tidy looking shoes.

However far away she lived, Mimi never ever missed a single one of our birthdays. Every year we could be sure that a pink or purple envelope would arrive in the post addressed with exotic swirly writing. The cards were always the best type, either covered in glitter or coated in feathers. Sometimes both.

This is how we will remember Mimi, our thoughtful, American great -grandmother. And if her cards are to go by, she'll be dancing in purple clouds with super sparkly wings.

Carlos Palmer

November 21, 2014

Dear Mimi two things you've taught me:
the Foxtrot and the motto " is it kind, is it true, is it necessary"... to this day I try to dance and live by these lessons... que en paz descanses.

Pamela, Fred and Mimi

Joanna ten Bos

November 21, 2014

Joanna ten Bos

November 21, 2014

I wanted to share Frederic de Belloy's letter to my mother, Pamela.

What was very touching with Mimi was the way she talked about your father. She has been so nice to your father, and they loved each other. Somehow, it's good to know they are together again.

November 20, 2014

I came to know Mimi when we stayed in Grandpa Spel's weekend house waiting for the arrival of our sister. It was a great year.
One of the highlights was driving into San Fran's up-and-down-streets on the evenings we dined at Grandpa's and Mimi's. We'd all dress up really nice and be on our best of besets behaviours. There always was a surprise. Mims always had something planned: a home-film night, a filming-session,....
Another highlight was when they came over on the weekends. Mims would put on her records and teach us the fox-trot, shuffle, etc.
I owe her my posture too; she forced me into it very convincingly thanks to a poking finger on my pack......better than words!
And I've kept engraved in my mind a phrase she taught me that has come in handy many a time:
"Is it true, is it nice, is it necessary."
Thank you Mims.
May you rest in peace.
Vicky.

November 20, 2014

Even under great tragedies, we have hope. Can our loved ones live again? The Bible says yes; on the earth, in peace, and forever. Palms 37:9-11,29.

November 20, 2014

My condolences to the family. Rely on God during this difficult time and know that he hears your prayers Isaiah 59:1

Christopher Long

November 20, 2014

Mimi will be greatly missed by all of us at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and especially by her Prentice Scholars that she always called "her students." On October 23 she sat with three of her scholars during a reception at the University Club and told me at dinner how much she enjoyed learning about what they had accomplished at Yale, Seattle Pacific University and the University of Georgia.

We will miss her feistiness, curiosity and the twinkle in her eye. I will miss our lunches at Le Perigord and hearing about all the fun that she and Spel had in New York, Phoenix and Montecito.

May Mimi rest in peace.

Sofia Escalante

November 18, 2014

Dear Granny Mimi,
I understand you've changed address. Im not quite sure you've read the last letter i've sent you... I just wanted to remind you how important you are to me and how much I admire you. I treasure the moments we've spent together; the goodnight kisses, the ice-skating in Central Park, the "discovering Lego Land", the girl to girl chats, shopping, the Natural History Museum, the stuffed animals and your special collection of toys... So many things!! Ive had so much fun with you... Until the very end you have lived with the playful passion of a little girl; a cozy soul and a joyful spirit, and for that I look up to you. I will miss your birthday cards and the stamps and letters, but I am so grateful for having had you for 16 years... Having had a special person who always remembered my birthday and welcomed us to her house, who made me feel special and loved. I love you dearly and will miss you so so much... One last letter... To heaven

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