Willa E. Skinner, a beloved Hudson Valley historian, author, journalist, columnist, mother, aunt, friend and mentor to many, passed peacefully on Thursday, January 18, 2024 while under hospice care at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie. She was 98.
Daughter of the late William and Bertha (Frering) Kretch, she was born in Manhattan on January 16, 1926. Willa was raised in the Bronx and graduated from Christopher Columbus High School. She earned a bachelor's degree from New York University's School of Journalism 1948.
Her family purchased a summer home in Fishkill in 1929, which Willa loved visiting throughout her childhood and into her adult years.
On October 2, 1949, she married Ivan A. Skinner of Monticello, NY in the Bronx. In 1951, the couple became permanent residents of Fishkill, where they would raise their family. Willa was predeceased by Ivan in 1995.
Willa was a well-known devoted historian who authored several publications, appeared on many television programs, and was a freelance writer for various magazines and newspapers throughout the Hudson Valley and beyond. She served as the Town of Fishkill Historian for 53 years and in 2015 received the Martha Washington Woman of History Award.
She is survived by her daughter, Fern Franke of Beacon; her son, Matthew Skinner & his wife Cathleen of Guthrie, OK; her daughter, Eugenia Ballard & her husband Terence of Ulster Park; her grandsons Lt. Ian Skinner (US Army) and Jonathan Skinner & his wife Kaitlyn; several nieces and nephews along with their families; and many other loving relatives & friends.
In addition to her husband and parents, Willa was also predeceased by her sister, Lola Yellen.
Willa's family looks forward to celebrating her legacy - a long, productive and wonderful life - with all who knew and loved her.
Calling hours will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, January 26 at the McHoul Funeral Home of Fishkill, Inc., 1089 Main Street, Fishkill, NY. A funeral service will begin at 11am on Saturday, January 27 at the First Reformed Church of Fishkill, 1153 Main Street, Fishkill, NY. A graveside service will take place at 11 a.m. on Monday, January 29 at Fishkill Rural Cemetery, 801 Route 9, Fishkill, NY.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Fishkill Historical Society, P.O. Box 133, Fishkill, NY 12524 (www.fishkillhistoricalsociety.org)
For online tributes, you can visit Willa's Book of Memories at www.mchoulfuneralhome.com.

_________________________________________________________
Willa Skinner, Historian | 1926-2024 | A Brief Biography
_________________________________________________________
In 1962 as the Fishkill Historical Society was forming, Willa and another FHS member drove
to Albany to present their case to the Director of the Department of Transportation – their
request to reconfigure the newly planned interstate highway (I-84) cloverleaf, and save the Van
Wyck Homestead from imminent demolition.

When the NYS DOT Director arrived in Fishkill, Willa conducted a tour for him through
what planners had listed as "abandoned farmhouse", with a flashlight, explaining that in early
November 1776, General Israel Putnam knocked on the front door of the Van Wyck family's
homestead.

"Per General George Washington's orders, I am commandeering your house as officers' headquarters."
As the Van Wyck family looked out across their property there stood 2,000 Continental Army
soldiers with horses and cannons. Their home remained as Headquarters for 7 years, at which
time the Treaty of Paris was signed by US and British representatives on September 3, 1783,
ending the American Revolution.

This grass-roots movement of local residents against the decisions of the Federal Highway
System and the New York State Department of Transportation – and Willa's personal appeal
to the Director - preserved what is now the Van Wyck Homestead Museum for future
generations.

_________________________________________________________

Appointed as Town of Fishkill Historian in 1964, Willa was one of the founding members of
the Fishkill Historical Society and an active member of the Dutchess County Historical
Society, serving on the organization's publication committee.

She holds a journalism degree from NYU (Class of 1948) and was the author of Signal Fires
in the Highlands, a Town of Fishkill history, and Remembering Fishkill, a collection of
historical vignettes, with a supportive endorsement on the back cover by her friend Pete Seeger.
She conducted classes on local history for area schools and colleges, retiring her popular weekly
column "Wandering" with the Southern Dutchess News and the Beacon Free Press after
more than forty-five years.

As a freelance writer and editor, Willa's published articles appeared in NY Alive, Hudson
Valley Magazine, Dutchess Magazine, and Women's Day, to name a few.
Although Willa grew up in the Bronx with her sister, and both sets of grandparents nearby -
they spent summers, beginning in 1929, in Fishkill at their paternal grandparents' "house in
the country" on Osborn Hill Road, where an interest in the lore and history of the Hudson
Valley took hold.

In commemoration of Ms. Skinner's 50th year serving as a beloved and much published
Municipal Historian for the Town of Fishkill, she was honored numerous times throughout
2014 and beyond:
Willa was named 2014 recipient of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Local Government
Historian Professional Achievement Award at the annual conference of the Association of
Public Historians of New York State (APHNYS).

The Mount Gulian Historic Site, near Beacon NY hosted their 2014 gala with Guest of
Honor, Historian Willa Skinner, who was escorted into the event on the arms of General
George Washington and Field Commander Alexander Hamilton (extraordinary actors with
American Historical Theater). Her dream come true!

Ms. Skinner read the Declaration of Independence from the steps of Van Wyck Hall, Main
Street, Fishkill on July 4, 2014, continuing the Village of Fishkill's long-held tradition, as her
work was honored with testimonials from the Town, County, the NYS Governor's Office, and
numerous family members.

In February of 2015, Willa was recipient of the Martha Washington Woman of History
Award, given by Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site each year to a woman who
has made a contribution to the history of the Hudson Valley through education, promotion,
or preservation.

In May of 2018, The Town of Fishkill surprised Willa with a tribute to her accomplishments –
a well-attended ceremony, to include speakers from both government and historical
organizations, culminating in the unveiling of a bronze plaque now installed in the lobby of
the Town offices.

"When I was appointed town historian in 1964, I began a journey into the region's past and
found that opening one door led to the opening of another, a never-ending journey but always
enjoyable. I met real people and imaginary ones, heard stories handed down from one generation
to the next no matter if they were embroidered or not as they were passed along, listened to tales
told by natives and newcomers alike and shared them…" – Willa Skinner, Historian