In Remembrance: Wanda Peterson Hollensteiner’54, Friend of the Wright Museum
Wanda Peterson Hollensteiner’54 passed away peacefully May 31, 2020, at home in Rollins, Montana. She was surrounded by family, including her dog, Mox IV.
In 2009, the Wright Museum of Art opened its first permanent, climate-controlled gallery, funded by a gift from the Hollensteiner family. The venue, named the Wanda Hollensteiner Gallery, allows students and the public to access some of the teaching museum’s most treasured works of art and funds an ongoing art conservation program.
“Wanda emanated grace and generosity, as well as a vivacious personality,” Wright Museum Director Joy Beckman says. “The gift that Wanda and the Hollensteiner family established has been transformative for the Wright Museum and will live on through the Annual Conservation Lecture Series. Her absence will be sincerely felt.”
A double-major in art and psychology, Wanda was a member of the Homecoming Court as a student and played piano as an accompanist for the men’s choir, The Choraliers. In addition to raising a large family, she spent decades teaching piano and judging piano competitions.
Her service to Beloit included membership on the Alumni Executive Board and the Alumni Parents Admissions Program. In 2009, she received the Alumni Association’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Citation.
Wanda is survived by her husband, Jim, and five children, including James Hollensteiner’83 and Andrew Hollensteiner’92, seven grandchildren, and two step-grandchildren.
