Mimi Beman, longtime owner of Mitchell's Book Corner on Nantucket Island, Mass., died March 31 after a short illness. She was 62.
Beman sold Mitchell's two years ago to Mary Jennings, wife of Google CEO Eric Schmidt, but continued to work in the store (Shelf Awareness, January 10, 2008). She had owned Mitchell's--which was founded by her parents, Henry "Mitch" Mitchell and Mary Allen Havemeyer, in 1968--for 30 years.
The Inquirer and Mirror offers many tributes from friends and fans, including this from Lizbet Carroll Fuller, co-founder of the Nantucket Lighthouse School: "Mimi Beman was a fiery, passionate, intelligent, funny, dynamic and generous soul. It is hard to believe that her light has gone out so quickly... but she burned so brightly while she was here! Mimi and her lively bookstore were literal cornerstones of Nantucket's Main Street. Mimi's love of language and the written word was so great that she needed to share it with one and all. Of late, Nantucket Lighthouse School was the lucky recipient of Mimi’s energetic generosity and warm enthusiasm. As a board member and an ardent advocate for education, Mimi adopted Lighthouse School in her wholehearted, gregarious and generous way and invested her considerable energies in support of the school. It was truly a gift to get to know Mimi and we sorely miss her warm and wonderful self."