Obituary: Jeri Ann Skinner, 82

The following obituary of Jeri Ann Skinner, 82, is from her family:

On the evening of March 6, 2021, Jeri Ann Skinner (née Hatch), 82, passed away peacefully as a result of congestive heart failure. Jeri was being cared for at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, South Carolina at the time of her passing. Her son Chris and his wife Tammy were with her in her final moment, and although restrictions due to the ongoing pandemic made it difficult for a large number of visitors to gather in the hospital, the caring and attentive staff at MUSC ensured that Jeri’s loved ones were able to speak to her, share memories, and play her favorite music during her final hours.

Jeri was born on August 28, 1938 to Robert and Bernice Hatch in Sioux City, Iowa, where she grew up with her sister Jannett. After high school, the Hatch family relocated to California where Jeri worked as a secretary for Lockheed. She met her future husband, John Carl Skinner, at the Officers’ Club at Moffett Field in Sunnyvale. They were married on July 5, 1959. They had two sons, Christian Carl born on February 9, 1960 and Craig Steven born exactly two years later, on February 9, 1962.

Jeri and her family moved to Westport, Connecticut in 1969, where she lived for over 45 years. As a lover of the arts, Jeri found great joy in her roles as a public relations specialist for the Levitt Pavilion of Performing Arts in Westport and later as the Public Relations Director for the Darien Dinner Theater in Fairfield County. Darien Dinner Theater, or “Connecticut’s Broadway Theater” as it was known, put on such acclaimed productions as Brigadoon, South Pacific, 42nd Street, and The Pirates of Penzance with Jeri behind the scenes promoting each show. Jeri made many lifelong friends through her career in the theater and often invited actors to stay at her home during their show’s run. She carried her passion for the stage with her throughout the rest of her life.

Jeri loved playing hostess and planning gatherings. She even started her own event planning business called Fête Accompli in 1988 where she planned upscale events for Fendi, the Isle of Man, Harvard, and many more.

As the wife of a Naval Officer and international commercial pilot, Jeri also loved to travel the world with John visiting places like London, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo during her lifetime. Jeri enjoyed experiencing different cultures and would always seek out unique tokens from her travels to bring back to her family and friends.

Following their retirement, Jeri and John became leaders for Kingdom Builders at Greens Farms Congregational Church. This laid the foundation for the creation of the not-for-profit organization Builders Beyond Borders, whose purpose was to build and repair homes, clinics, daycare centers, and more for the less fortunate. Jeri and her family assembled groups of teens to participate in these efforts, traveling to such places as Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Honduras, and instilling the values of generosity, service, and goodwill through their ministry.

Throughout the years, over 1,700 teenagers participated in these programs. Jeri was proud to be named historian for the Southport Congregational Church, where she was a member for many years. She and John traveled to Boston to have the pulpit Bible restored. She also commissioned the restoration of the 115 year old stained glass windows in the church. She even found the studio in New Jersey that made the original windows to complete the work.

Jeri and John loved Charleston, South Carolina and had often spoken about moving there. Jeri decided to move to Mount Pleasant, South Carolina last September where she quickly made friends with other residents and staff there. She loved sitting on her beautiful balcony with Winston and often boasted that she had the best apartment there.

Jeri was often described as candid and spunky by those around her, two attributes that she wore as a badge of honor. She often claimed she had a filter, but said she never saw fit to use it. In addition to the feisty side of her personality, Jeri was committed to serving others as shown in both her career and the charitable organizations she helped establish.

Jeri was preceded in death by her father Robert Hatch, her mother Bernice Hatch, her sister Jannett Bailey (née Hatch), her husband of 57 years John Skinner, her daughter-in-heart Marianne Challis-Root, and her French Bulldog Winston.

Jeri leaves her son Christian Skinner and his wife Tammy; her son Craig Skinner and his wife Elizabeth; her granddaughter Jennifer Skinner; her granddaughter Amanda Dempsey, her husband Peter, their son Killian, and their daughter Maeve; her granddaughter Emily Skinner; her step-grandson Howard Dias and his wife Jasmin; her sister-in-law Patricia Peck and her husband Robert; her nephew Brian Peck and his wife Staci, his daughter Ruby, their daughter Charlie, and their daughter Ryan; her niece Diane Rodda and her husband Matthew, their son Owen, and their daughter Ashlin.

In addition to her biological family, Jeri leaves behind dear friends who are like her extended family; her “son-in-law” Frank Root; her “grandson” Alanson Root, his wife Ashley, their son Atlas, and their daughter Arden; her “granddaughter” Abigail Root Mulgrew and her husband Ben; her “grandson” Phillip Bettencourt; “Uncle” Bob Logan; “Uncle” Rick Donner; and many other close friends who held Jeri in their hearts.

Like her husband John, who donated his body to Yale University, Jeri donated her body to Anatomy Gifts in the hopes of furthering scientific research that could help others in the future, a cause that both Jeri and John were very passionate about.

As a tribute to her husband and his battle with Parkinson’s Disease, Jeri would have wanted donations to be made in her and John’s name to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to further advance the search for a cure. (MichaelJFox.org)

A celebration of Jeri’s life will be arranged at a later date with more details to follow.