June 26, 1982..... Placed in the same category as my own dear mother, Charlotte Skinner was one of the most beautiful people, from within--as well as externally, I have ever known. From every point of view and despite the fact that she was of my mother's generation her friendship constituted one of the finest relationships I've known in the course of an entire lifetime. Charlotte was born and raised in the city of San Francisco, living for years in a lovely spacious house, on a hillside directly overlooking the embarcadero and bay of San Francisco. Misfortune in the family caused Charlotte largely to be raised by two maiden aunts and a grandmother, all Victorian ladies. Their influence in manner, dress and behavior, was noteworthy and remarkable throughout her lifetime. In her childhood and youth this careful nurturing, plus natural talent and good taste, seemed inevitably to lead her into the field of the arts of both music and graphic arts and painting in particular. Do not recall the precise details, but imagine it was through competitive effort that she finally won scholarships that enabled her to complete an education in art at the Mark Hopkins Art Institute in San Francisco, (now the prestigious San Francisco Art Institute). This apparently included certification for the teaching of art. This career she pursued for a number of years prior to her marriage to a most colorful, interesting and exciting man from the mining and back country, Lone Pine, California. He had come to the city to study privately under the famous blind sculptor, Putman. William Lyle Skinner, a storybook character, if there ever was such?? Tall, ruggedly handsome Billy, in his compelling way and with his endless collection of perfectly fabulous yearns and stories always had a charmed and enraptured audience. Billy's father, an early pioneer, rancher and miner in Inyo County, mining was the continuing interest and business for many years for the family.