Arlene McKinney

Arlene ("Skip") Allsopp McKinney Passed away peacefully at her home surrounded by her family on Monday, October 18, 2010. She was born in San Francisco on September 23, 1925, a third generation Californian. She graduated from UC Berkeley, Phi Beta Kappa, a member of her beloved Sigma Kappa Sorority, with a major in Latin American studies. After working a year as a Spanish translator for the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, Arlene, known as Skip (except to her California friends), left with a girlfriend on a one-month freighter trip to find jobs in South America. After finding civil unrest and no employment in Argentina, she found work in Rio de Janeiro with the United States-Brazilian military command. After a year, she decided to tour Europe and then found employment in Munich where she was in charge of personnel records for the U.S. Army-Europe. A year later she came home to San Francisco to marry her "pen pal" of five years, Bob McKinney, then moved to Hawaii, which served as their home port while Bob served in the Navy during the Korean War. She then moved to Indianapolis where she helped her husband start and develop his law practice and where they raised five perfect children, Rob, Marni, Kevin, Kent, and Lisa; enjoyed five perfect grandchildren, Franci, Aidan, Payton, Liza and Tristan; as well as her daughters-in-law, Bridget and Heather McKinney and her son-in-law Dick Waterfield. She also enjoyed her interim home in Washington, D.C. during the Carter administration where she supported her husband as a Georgetown hostess and served as an active member of the International Club. They were happily married and traveled the world for 59 years. She is also survived by her cousins, Patsy Mehlinger, of San Francisco and James Winkler, of East Hampton, New York Art was always Skip's true love. She was particularly fond of portrait painting of her children, dogs, friends and studio subjects. She was generous of her talent, time and treasure working weekly at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and establishing at UC Berkeley an endowment for Latin American Scholarship, giving special support for her Sigma Kappa Chapter House, and for the world renowned Bancroft Library. Skip also joined her husband in supporting, financially and actively, many other causes including the US Naval Academy, Indiana University, and the Sierra Club Foundation. She was a former board member of the Indianapolis Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the Contemporary Club, and the McKinney Family Foundation. She was a member of the Investment Connection, Meridian Hills Country Club, Lemon Bay Country Club, Walloon Lake Country Club, The Columbia Club and Sam's Club. A special thank you to Steve Jobs. Her adventurous spirit, her marvelous dry wit, her gentle nature and absolute kindness, her selflessness, frugality and unrelenting loyalty will live in our hearts forever. Family and friends will gather on Friday October 22nd from 9:30 to 11:00 am in the Father Paul Courtney Reception Room at St. Luke Catholic Church, 7575 Holliday Drive East, Indianapolis, IN with a Mass of Christian Burial being celebrated at 11:00 am. You are invited to visit the website www.leppertmortuary where you may share a personal memory of Skip and sign the guest book and in lieu of flowers, you may make a contribution to The Society of St. Vincent de Paul at www.svdpindy.org or the Indianapolis Art Center www.indplsartcenter.org.