Obituary for Miriam Banks Thobae
Miriam (Mimi) Banks Thobae died peacefully on Friday, March 24th in her home. Mimi was born on July 26, 1935, the eldest child of Mr. and Mrs. William Skidmore Banks Jr. A lifelong Houstonian, there were few areas you could go and not run into someone who knew Mimi. With her graceful presence and gentle demeanor, Mimi exuded beauty and class.
Mimi was ahead of her time and never one to do as she was told, always inquisitive and intellectually astute. She spent her summers at Camp Waldemar in her youth. After graduating the University of Texas at Austin where she was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, Mimi embarked upon a career that began at Houston Mayor Lewis Cutrer’s office. She left Houston on a whim to share an apartment with friends in New York City and landed a job as picture editor at Look Magazine. She traveled to Europe where she skied in Kitzbuhel for a couple years. Beckoned home by her parents, Mimi returned to Houston and taught English at Milby High School and Duchesne Academy. She was a member of the Junior League of Houston.
New York is where her discovery of food began. She married fellow foodie and intellectual counterpart, Charlie Thobae. Throughout their marriage, they enjoyed cooking, fishing, outdoors and day-trip adventures. A lifelong grammar and prose enthusiast, she edited Charlie’s writing and corrected her daughters’ grammar. Of course, many will remember her as a staple at Harry’s in the restaurant days.
Mimi was a devoted mother and excellent dinner companion to all. She remarked that her happiest moment was having children. At one point in her life, she had three daughters under the age of four. And later held six grandbabies over the course of four years, filling her with pride and joy.
Preceded in death by her husband of 31 years, Charles P. Thobae, Mimi is survived by her children – daughter Kathryn Hodge and her husband Mark of Dallas and their two children, Mimi and Jake; daughter Sarah Thobae of Houston and her two children, Harol and Kathryn Lofton; daughter Carol Wirth and her husband Philip of Houston and their two children Charlie and George; brother Dr. William Skidmore Banks III and wife Beth, niece Hanly Callahan of Austin, and nephew Tom Banks of Los Angeles; and cousin Lewis Tarver of San Antonio.
Her gentle yet forceful presence and sharp mind until the end will forever be an absence in our lives.
A memorial service and celebration of her life will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, April 14th at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, 6221 Main Street in Houston.
Mimi was ahead of her time and never one to do as she was told, always inquisitive and intellectually astute. She spent her summers at Camp Waldemar in her youth. After graduating the University of Texas at Austin where she was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, Mimi embarked upon a career that began at Houston Mayor Lewis Cutrer’s office. She left Houston on a whim to share an apartment with friends in New York City and landed a job as picture editor at Look Magazine. She traveled to Europe where she skied in Kitzbuhel for a couple years. Beckoned home by her parents, Mimi returned to Houston and taught English at Milby High School and Duchesne Academy. She was a member of the Junior League of Houston.
New York is where her discovery of food began. She married fellow foodie and intellectual counterpart, Charlie Thobae. Throughout their marriage, they enjoyed cooking, fishing, outdoors and day-trip adventures. A lifelong grammar and prose enthusiast, she edited Charlie’s writing and corrected her daughters’ grammar. Of course, many will remember her as a staple at Harry’s in the restaurant days.
Mimi was a devoted mother and excellent dinner companion to all. She remarked that her happiest moment was having children. At one point in her life, she had three daughters under the age of four. And later held six grandbabies over the course of four years, filling her with pride and joy.
Preceded in death by her husband of 31 years, Charles P. Thobae, Mimi is survived by her children – daughter Kathryn Hodge and her husband Mark of Dallas and their two children, Mimi and Jake; daughter Sarah Thobae of Houston and her two children, Harol and Kathryn Lofton; daughter Carol Wirth and her husband Philip of Houston and their two children Charlie and George; brother Dr. William Skidmore Banks III and wife Beth, niece Hanly Callahan of Austin, and nephew Tom Banks of Los Angeles; and cousin Lewis Tarver of San Antonio.
Her gentle yet forceful presence and sharp mind until the end will forever be an absence in our lives.
A memorial service and celebration of her life will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, April 14th at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, 6221 Main Street in Houston.