Wanda Bani Skowlund

Wanda Bani Skowlund Wanda was born to Ersilia (Fontani) and Angiolo Bani in Florence Italy on July 2nd 1926. She attended schools in Florence with her brother Arnoldo while spending summers in Radicofani, a medieval village in Tuscany and home to her maternal ancestors. She loved to tell stories of her childhood adventures exploring the ancient castle of Radicofani with her cousins. School was a disappointment for Wanda as she questioned the value of an education in a society that expected women to serve the needs of men and bear and raise children. This was not a future that Wanda would aspire to. Upon Wanda’s completion of high school, World War II had descended on Italy and Wanda’s family was commissioned to provide temporary housing for American GI’s. One of those GI’s was Carl Thomas Skowlund, a musician from Wisconsin. A brief romance ensued but with the end of the war, Carl returned to America. Several years later Carl was back in Italy to propose to Wanda and the couple were married in Ferrara, Italy in August of 1952. Wanda emigrated to the United States with her new husband in 1953. For the next 6 years she and Carl lived in the small Wisconsin town of Williams Bay. She often spoke glowingly of her time there, keeping active as a volunteer with Girl Scouts and beginning a family with the birth of her two sons, Anthony Carl Skowlund in 1958 and Christopher Thomas Skowlund in 1959. The Wisconsin winters were especially hard on a young woman used to the Mediterranean sun, so in 1959 the young family packed up the car and drove west to southern California and their new life in the Los Angeles area. Carl began his job teaching music in Arcadia schools and Wanda began domestic life in their new home in Temple City, a suburb of Los Angeles. In 1964 and growing restless with her life as a homemaker, Wanda began a course of study at Pasadena City College. She worked hard at PCC, making the Dean’s List each term, and discovering the life of the mind as the source of a new identity and future for her. She transferred to California State University at Los Angeles and in 1972 graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology. During this time Wanda became very active politically participating in Vietnam War protest marches and working on the campaigns of presidential candidates Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern. In 1972 Wanda divorced amicably from Carl and began her professional career as a social worker for the county of Los Angeles. Her career lasted 19 years and brought her much satisfaction in her role as a Medicaid and Welfare eligibility worker. Her compassion for those less fortunate and a strong sense of social justice made her a good fit for this work. In the late 1980’s and reeling from the death of her brother and mother, Wanda once again focused her energies on political causes. She became active with an organization called World Without War and in 1990 joined the Global Walk for a Livable World. She participated in the walk from Los Angeles to Oklahoma City, 1500 miles of mostly desert with rain, snow, tornadoes and a cast of colorful characters. In 1993 Wanda moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico, to be closer to her son Christopher, who at the time, was a professor at the University there. Wanda loved the setting and culture of the New Mexico desert and used it as a subject for many of her paintings. She had painted off and on since she was a young girl but she seemed to take a heightened interest in her art during her time in New Mexico. She was also an active member of a writing group at the university and took great pleasure in sharing her writings with its members. In 2012 at the age of 86, Wanda was diagnosed with breast cancer. The ensuing treatment schedule required her to move to Lake Oswego, Oregon to be closer to her son Anthony’s family. A piece of her heart would forever remain in New Mexico but now Wanda bravely turned her energies to the battle with cancer. Within a week of her move to Oregon, she underwent breast removal surgery and began a regimen of chemotherapy. It was a dark and confusing year for Wanda as she endured the assault of chemotherapy and the loss of her hair. She never gave up and by 2014 she had regained her hair and the cancer was in remission. She stayed active at her residence at the Springs at Carman Oaks participating in various events and going on long walks in the neighborhood. In 2017 the cancer returned and Wanda passed gracefully in the early morning of July 27. She is survived by her son Christopher, her son Anthony, his wife Kathleen and their children Natalie and Loren. We will miss her dearly.