Obituary : Wendy W. Jenkinson
Published: July 24, 2008
Wendy W. Jenkinson, 45, died on July 17 after a heroic 13-month battle with brain cancer. Wendy died at her home in West Tisbury with her husband, Patrick, by her side.
Wendy was born on Dec. 20, 1962 in White Plains, N.Y., the first daughter to Suzanne Steinfeld Weisman and Hugh Stix Weisman. The family lived in Scarsdale, N.Y. where Wendy grew up and attended school. Wendy also attended the Cordon Bleu Cooking Academy in London.
After many summers on Martha's Vineyard, Wendy relocated here to become a permanent resident working as a chef at various Island restaurants. She loved to cook and food was her passion. In fact, it was Wendy's cooking that introduced her to Patrick. Wendy had a lunch drop-off business where Patrick was a regular customer and a few sandwiches later, they fell in love. Wendy and Patrick were married on November 2, 1996 in West Tisbury.
As much as Wendy loved cooking, her primary and favorite job was being a mom to her children Marguerite and Wyatt. She always talked about them and spent any free time with them whether it was at the beach or shuttling Marguerite to dance with Wyatt in tow. These children were the light of Wendy's life and everyone knew it. Wendy loved to laugh and talk with her friends and family. She enjoyed reading books, going to the movies and the beach.
After years of working in other peoples' restaurants, Wendy started her own very popular and successful catering company, Periwinkle Catering. This is where Wendy surrounded herself with good hardworking people. Sisters and friends alike worked "in the weeds" together. She met some very special people through her work. She genuinely enjoyed her job and the people she worked for. Wendy just fit well in any kitchen. She became part of their family.
We were all lucky to have her in our lives.
Wendy is survived by her husband Patrick T. Jenkinson and her two children, Wyatt Avery Jenkinson and Marguerite Susan Smith. She is also survived by her parents, Suzy and Hugh Weisman, her sisters, Alexandra Weisman and Jennifer Sullivan and her family. Wendy will also be greatly missed by Joan and Pat Jenkinson and Holly Bario and her family.
Please come to a celebration of Wendy's life this Saturday, July 26 at 2 pm at Bliss Pond Farm off North Road, a.k.a the Windmill at Flanders's Farm in Chilmark.
An Appreciation of Wendy Jenkinson, by her father
Wendy Weisman Jenkinson died at her home in West Tisbury on July 17, after a 13-month struggle with glioblastoma, a virulent brain cancer. She was a graduate of Scarsdale High School, the Cordon Bleu, attended Hampshire College, and was accomplished chef and successful caterer, loved by her friends and family. She is survived by her husband Patrick, her children Marguerite and Wyatt, her adoring parents Hugh and Suzanne Weisman, her loyal sisters, Jennifer Sullivan and Alexandra Weisman, her nephews Timmy and Peter and nieces Annie and Emma. She was an extraordinary beauty and one of the bravest people in the world.
Wendy's attachment to Island life began soon after birth. Although not actually born in Hawaii, Wendy came to Honolulu at two weeks old with the name of Wendy Leilani. She lived the first two years and half years of her life there.
Her family has had a long association with the Vineyard and Chilmark. Her father first vacationed with his parents in a cabin without running water or electricity on Robinson's Hill in 1947. Wendy first came to the Vineyard in the summer of 1966. She summered for the next 20 years with her family in Chilmark, becoming a year-round resident of the Vineyard after graduating from the Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in 1988. She worked as a sous chef in a variety of Vineyard kitchens, including Andrea's, Warriner's, and Latanzi's. In 1990, she married Hollis Smith of Aquinnah and their daughter, Marguerite, was born in 1991. She married Patrick Jenkinson of West Tisbury in 1996, and their son Wyatt was born in 1998.
Wendy established Periwinkle Catering in the early nineties. She was known for her innovative and very personal cooking and her love for her clients. She has cooked, along with her sisters, for a former and current first lady at two different events on the same day. She has cooked for a president and movie stars, CEOs of major companies, and Islanders and visitors alike. To all, she was devoted, and they were devoted to her.
As focused as she was on cooking, her main love was for the relationships she had with her children, her close friends, and her large extended family. She found time to attend almost every one of Wyatt's hockey games and Marguerite's dance performances, both on-Island and off-. She found time in the middle of major catering jobs to find an hour to spend with her sisters and friends on Stonewall Beach. She found time to visit with friends and family in New York and California, to vacation in Hawaii, and take family trips to France and Italy.
A scholarship fund will be established for a student in culinary arts at the Regional High School. Details will be released at a later date. The Weisman family plans a celebration of her life on August 23 in Chilmark.
Hugh Weisman
Editor's note: Patrick Jenkinson writes about his wife and the family's loss in a letter to the editor published in today's issue of The Times
