Elaine B. Wolfensohn
With great sadness, the board, volunteers, and community of Margaret McNamara Education Grants (MMEG), formerly the Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund (MMMF), respond to the passing of Elaine Wolfensohn, 83, on August 19, 2020. Elaine joined her husband Jim at the World Bank in June 1995. Even before she had fully moved into her Washington home on Kalorama Circle, she invited the then president of the MMMF board who had contacted her, to visit her there to learn more about the organization and how she could support it.
As a teacher and educator who possessed great concern for women’s rights and early childhood development, she became especially interested in the MMMF, since it provided grants for women studying in fields that would uplift the lives of women and children. Elaine came to meetings and other MMMF events, asking good questions and making thoughtful comments. She met and engaged with the grantees whom the MMMF invited to Washington at that time. A loyal supporter of the Arts and Crafts Fair the years she was at the Bank, she opened her schedule to attend, chat with vendors as she walked through the tables, and make purchases. She appreciated the hard work that went into organizing the Fair and enjoyed her moments with volunteers and board members there.
Whenever Elaine met with the MMMF, she had a compelling gaze and steady eyes. People had the sense that she gave individuals and groups her full attention and respect. Her pride in her daughter, Sarah’s talent shone when the MMMF sponsored Sarah’s performing at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) auditorium at an evening concert for MMMF supporters.
The board and volunteers of MMEG extend their most sincere condolences to her husband, Jim Wolfensohn, and her children, Naomi, Sarah, and Adam; her grandchildren, family, and many friends who mourn her passing.
A life of service is a life well and greatly lived.
—Omoakhuana Anthonia
