Mimi Edlin, 93, sponsored Jewish Light internship

Mimi Edlin and  her family established scholarships at the Jewish Light and the Sarasota-Manatee Jewish News in Florida to honor her late husband, Joseph J. Edlin. Joseph Edlin was a longtime Trustee and Past President of the Light. 

BY ROBERT A. COHN, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus

Miriam “Mimi” Edlin, founder of a Jewish Light internship program in honor of her late husband, Joseph J. Edlin, a past president of the Jewish Light Board of Trustees, died Friday, Sept. 22.  She was 93, a former St. Louisan, and a longtime resident of the Longboat Key-Sarasota, Fla., area.

Mrs. Edlin wanted to honor her husband who served as president of the Jewish Light board from 1977-79. 

Funds donated in his honor were placed in an endowment to provide financial backing for what became the Joseph J. Edlin Internship Fund at the Jewish Light, and a parallel program with the Sarasota-Manatee Jewish News.  Over 26 years, numerous young journalists have served as Edlin Fund interns at both publications.

Miriam (“Mimi”) Steinberg Edlin was born in Norwalk, Conn., on Aug. 21, 1924, daughter of Michael and Rae (Osmansky) Sternberg.  She was a graduate of the Norwalk High School and was a 1946 graduate of Connecticut College for Women with a bachelor of science degree in economics.

She married Joseph J. Edlin, a real estate executive and attorney, and a frequent reviewer of books for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Light.  Mimi Edlin often told the Light, “Joseph and I shared a passion for the written and spoken word, and the internship in his honor was a perfect way to honor his legacy.”

Mimi and Joseph Edlin were longtime residents of St. Louis, where they were members of Temple Israel.  Mrs. Edlin moved to Longboat Key full time in 1996, and then moved to Sarasota in April 2008,  with her significant other, the late Alfred Ginewsky, her partner of 20 years.

Mrs. Edlin was a patron of the arts, especially the Sarasota Ballet and the Ringling School of Design. A plaque in honor of her generous support of the arts is placed at the Longboat Key Center of the Arts.  She was also a regular attendee at the Sarasota Orchestra, Sarasota Ballet Opera and theater performances.

“Mom was always easily recognizable by her large collection of wonderful hats,” her daughter Mari Edlin told the Light

Survivors include three daughters, Jamie Edlin (Danny Schneider) of Los Angeles; Laura Wendel (Dr. Robert Wendel) of  Sacramento;  and Mari Edlin (Jerry Byler) of San Francisco; and a granddaughter, Eliza Wendel of San Francisco. 

Contributions preferred to the Ringling School of Design (www.ringling.edu/advancement)

Her daughters are organizing a “celebration of Mom.”