Elenita Milbank “Nina” Drumwright
Elenita Milbank “Nina” Drumwright, age 79, died peacefully at her home in West Chester, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, December 8, 2016. The cause was the neurodegenerative disorder multiple systems atrophy.
Born on May 11, 1937, in New York City, New York to Samuel Robbins Milbank and Molly Wetmore Milbank, Nina attended the Brearley School in New York City and then the Madeira School in McLean, Virginia. Because of her mother’s family history as American expatriates in prerevolutionary Santiago, Cuba and throughout Central America, Nina was given a Spanish name that means “Little Light” and she grew up with Spanish spoken in her home. At the age of 18 while at Vassar College, she discovered she had juvenile diabetes. She earned her B.A. in History and Spanish from Vassar College in 1959. She earned her M.A. in Hispanic American and Luso-Brazilian Studies at Stanford University in 1961 and then settled in San Francisco, California.
While working at the World Affairs Council of Northern California, Nina met her future husband, James Robert “Jim” Drumwright, who was a trustee. Episcopal Bishop James A. Pike married the couple at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco on August 17, 1962. While James worked at Bank of America’s International Division for 23 years, Nina lived and raised a family in multiple locations - San Francisco, California; Paris, France; Birmingham, England; Tokyo, Japan; and Rye, New York. In her many travels, she learned to speak fluent French and rudimentary Japanese. While in Paris she studied French cooking with Julia Child and Simone Beck and earned her Diplôme Élémentaire from the École des Trois Gourmandes. Nina’s dinner parties were legendary and greatly assisted her husband’s career. She was an expert in needlepoint and created intricate tapestry wall hangings and pillows. She was also an appreciator of both classical and Latin American music.
In 1978 Nina moved to Haverford, Pennsylvania, where James worked as President of Provident National Bank (now PNC Bank) in Philadelphia. Though James later worked in New York City for two decades, first for the French bank Credit du Nord and then for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the family continued to reside in Haverford. During the 25 years she lived in Haverford, Nina spent much of her time performing community service. She volunteered as a fundraiser and organizer for the American Diabetes Association’s Jubilee Ball in Philadelphia. She regularly fundraised for the Madeira School. Nina also served as a lay Eucharistic Minister at the Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr and as a Lay Chaplain at Bryn Mawr Hospital. James and Nina retired at Hershey’s Mill in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and spent summers traveling in Eastern Europe and Italy’s Tuscany. Nina worshipped at the Episcopal church of St. Peter’s in the Great Valley in Malvern, where with her granddaughter she fondly fed the sheep on the church grounds.
Survivors include her husband, James Robert Drumwright; her brother, Samuel L. Milbank; her three children, Elizabeth Drumwright, Alexandra Drumwright Giordano and Eliot Drumwright; her four grandchildren, Guy Anthony Giordano, Ariana Rose Giordano, Daniel Villaflor-Drumwright and Isabel Drumwright; and her great-grandchild, Natalia Isabel Giordano.
Dispersal of Elenita’s ashes by family members in various locations will be held in private. A memorial service will be held at a future date to be announced, at the Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Relatives and friends are welcome at the memorial service and the reception at Church of the Redeemer immediately following it.
Elenita loved organ music and memorial contributions are welcome and should be mailed to Trustees of Princeton University, Princeton University, P.O. Box 291, Princeton, NJ 08544-0001 for the purpose of maintaining the Princeton University Chapel