In memoriam: Macon ‘Mimi’ Howard

Mimi, as pictured in a 1987 group photo of The Seattle Public Library’s Board of Trustees.

We regret to share news of a loss in our Library Foundation family.

On Aug. 7, we lost pioneering Library leader Macon “Mimi” Howard at age 83. Mimi served as a trustee of The Seattle Public Library from 1982 to 1992, then as a member of The Seattle Public Library Foundation’s Board of Directors from 1992 to 2013, including a stint as the Finance Committee chairwoman.

We remember her as a friendly happy-spirited person who was a dedicated servant to the Library and had a mind for finances.

Mimi was an early donor upon the formation of the Foundation and is the namesake of the Mimi Howard Reading Area at the Madrona-Sally Goldmark Branch, dedicated in 2008.

Born in Pittsburgh, Mimi lived in Seattle for the last 40 years. She worked as a librarian for 10 years and co-founded The Information Group in Seattle, which provided a wide range of Library services to the city. She then became a stock broker, becoming one of the first women stockbrokers at Dean Witter.

Mimi counted the construction of the Central Library among her capstone achievements as a board member of the Foundation.

Current Seattle Public Library Trustee and Foundation Emeritus Board member Ron Chew remembers Mimi as “someone who was warm and witty, with a funny sense of humor who lent her passion for the cause to the campaign.”

She is survived by three children – Charles W. Cummings, Jr., Lee Blanchard Cummings, and Evelyn Howard Cummings – and eight grandchildren.