Mimi Barash Coppersmith’s lasting legacy
STATE COLLEGE — To most in State College, she was simply Mimi.
A warm smile, a sharp wit, a steady hand guiding the conversations that shaped this community. But Mimi Ungar Barash Coppersmith, who passed away Sept. 14 at age 92, was far more than a familiar face.
She was a force that reshaped the town she loved, the university she championed and the countless lives she touched.
Born in Wilkes-Barre in 1933 to Jewish immigrant parents, Mimi grew up working in her family’s grocery store before becoming the first in her family to graduate from college. Penn State gave her a home, and she never stopped giving back. By the time she earned her journalism degree in 1953, she had already found her calling by telling stories, elevating voices and refusing to sit quietly on the sidelines.
Mimi built her life on breaking barriers. She co-founded “Town&Gown” magazine with her first husband, Sy Barash, in 1966. The glossy pages carried more than ads and features. They carried Mimi’s voice, sometimes blunt but always unflinching. Her “Catalyst” column confronted racial discrimination at a time when advertisers threatened to walk away. She pressed on anyway. To her, the truth mattered more than comfort.
When Sy died in 1975, Mimi could have stepped back. Instead, she carried the business forward, transforming it into Barash Media and proving herself one of the region’s most formidable businesswomen. Life handed her more heartbreak — the sudden death of her second husband, Lou Coppersmith, and two separate battles with breast cancer.
Each time, she came back with a kind of determination that inspired everyone who knew her. In her memoir, “Eat First, Cry Later,” she admitted she was a woman who carried scars, but she wore them as proof of her survival.
Her reach went far beyond publishing. Mimi poured herself into the causes she believed in: Centre Safe, the Youth Service Bureau, Strawberry Fields, the Girl Scouts, the American Cancer Society and the Pink Zone. She had a seat on nearly every kind of board, from the Palmer Museum of Art to Centre LifeLink EMS. She participated not for recognition, but because she believed her presence could make a difference in her community.
“Mimi was a force of nature and I admired her immensely,” said Trish Fulvio, executive director of the Pennsylvania Pink Zone. “She was a fighter — she fought for the causes that she believed in and the people who needed her. Mimi was way ahead of her time. “Professionally, she accomplished things that could not have been easy for a woman. She took me under her wing and freely shared advice, guidance and instruction when needed. She left the world a better place and I will miss her.”
Jennifer Pencek, Executive Director of Centre Safe, agrees that Mimi was a force in the community.
“Mimi was a long-time supporter of Centre Safe and greatly believed in our work supporting victims and survivors. She was a force of nature and led the charge more times than anyone can count to support the community and encourage others to get involved in meaningful ways, far beyond even just contributing financially. She loved the Centre region and wanted to see the region and its people thrive. “
For everyone who knew her personally, Mimi was much more than a civic leader or business owner. Vilma Shu, Marketing Operations Lead and Project Manager through Penn State Smeal College of Business, remembered Mimi as someone who could see a person’s potential before they saw it themselves.
“There’s something about her. She had this unique ability to hone in on your natural talents,” Shu said. “She would look at you and say, ‘You think this is the best you can do? I think you can do even better.’ That was her gift.”
Shu recalled a plaque that sat on Mimi’s desk for decades. “It said, ‘When all else fails, ask Mimi,’” she said. “And that’s exactly who she was. If you wanted something done, you called Mimi. She’d open her Rolodex and start making calls. She connected the dots in a way no one else could.”
Mimi was outspoken, sometimes polarizing, and never afraid to speak her mind. But as Shu noted, beneath the steel exterior was a maternal side many didn’t always see.
“She could come off strong and opinionated, but she had this soft, grandmotherly instinct to take care of people,” Shu said. “She gave advice, she gave her time…she gave herself.”
That unapologetic spirit made her a pioneer.
“Can you imagine being in the 1950s, a Jewish woman with strong opinions, running a business in a world dominated by men?” Shu said. “To be the first woman to chair Penn State’s Board of Trustees — that took guts. She broke down doors that others couldn’t even get close to.”
Mimi officially retired from “Town&Gown” in 2021, ending her running “Lunch with Mimi” column the following year. Yet her influence is stitched into the fabric of Happy Valley in scholarships, in nonprofits, in the magazine she built and in the countless people who still hear her voice urging them to speak louder, act bolder and keep pushing.
“The positive and transformational impact that Mimi had on the Penn State and State College communities cannot be overstated,” said Linda Gall, Centre County volunteer and personal friend of Mimi. “And, if you were blessed to call her your friend, your life was enriched by her wisdom, passion, creativity, energy and generous heart.”
“Working alongside Mimi for eight years was a gift,” Tiara Snare, General Manager of Town&Gown and The Centre County Gazette said. “She was a force. Wise, bold, and deeply compassionate. I learned so much from her, and her legacy will always guide us here at Town&Gown.”
For those lucky enough to have known her — whether as a mentor, as a colleague or as a friend — it is hard to imagine State College without Mimi’s presence. She leaves behind her daughters, Carol and Nan, a community she helped shape and a legacy built on resilience, generosity and the belief that one determined woman can move mountains.
