Obituary of Maureen Ellinwood Pluvinage

Maureen Ellinwood Pluvinage Oak Knoll Graduate, Dartmouth Swimmer, ‘Force of Nature’ Maureen Ellinwood Pluvinage, 36, died on Monday, September 25th at University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland. She succumbed to injuries sustained in a cycling accident on Saturday, September 23rd. Her husband, Mathieu Pluvinage, and her family were at her side when she passed away. Maureen was expecting their first child in early March. Maureen was born on February 8, 1981 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child in Summit, New Jersey (1999), Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire (2003) and Trinity College (MBA) in Dublin, Ireland (2011). Maureen was involved in a variety of activities as an alumna of all three schools including recruiting, fundraising and serving on the Trinity College Business School Advisory Board. Professionally, she worked in various finance functions over her 14 year career for UBS, Lehman Brothers and Barclays in New York, London and Zurich, Switzerland. Most recently, she was employed as a Vice President at UBS in Zurich as a member of the Recovery & Resolution Planning Group. While at Trinity College, Maureen quickly became smitten by and immersed in European culture. She traveled extensively throughout the European continent and beyond (Tunisia, Turkey, Croatia, South Africa and Mt. Kilimanjaro to name a few). Maureen and Mathieu met in 2015 while both were attending a Dartmouth College Alumni Ski Trip in Verbier, Switzerland and, after a two year courtship, were married on May 20th, 2017 in Biarritz, France. Although Maureen’s years on earth were far too short, her life experiences were not. Simply stated, she was a force of nature. Her energy was boundless and she did not assume any task unless it could be completed at the highest standard and with a 110% commitment of time and energy. She was a lifelong competitive swimmer, beginning with the Summit Seals in 1989 and ending as a captain of Dartmouth’s Women’s Swim Team in 2003. When Dartmouth eliminated the Men’s and Women’s Swim Teams for budgetary reasons at the beginning of her senior season, Maureen, along with her teammates, worked tirelessly to raise funds to preserve both programs - and they succeeded. Post-college, she completed numerous triathlon/swimming competitions at venues ranging from the Alcatraz Swim in San Francisco to the New York Marathon and Triathlon events to the Bosphorus Straits Cross Continental Swim in Turkey. Maureen was a dedicated friend who, while using all forms of media to communicate with them, specialized in the personal visit. On her eight day Christmas 2016 visit home to New Jersey from London, she made day trips to Raleigh, North Carolina to see a friend and Palm Harbor, Florida to visit her grandfather followed by a three day trip to Denver, Ft. Collins and Vail, Colorado to see various friends/family. She did manage to carve out two days for her parents in Short Hills at the end. At each stop, she would shower her friends/family with thoughtful gifts and cards she had accumulated in her European travels. Maureen also had an insatiable desire for information which resulted in her devouring dozens of articles daily, most coming from her beloved New York Times. Since she lived in a time zone six hours ahead, her family and friends could expect to wake up to one or more links/articles relating to their life/career that Maureen thought they should see. Maureen is survived by her husband, Mathieu Pluvinage of Zurich, Switzerland; her parents, Rosemary and Charles R. Ellinwood of Short Hills, NJ; her sister, Catherine (Charles) Nettleton of Rye, NY; and her brother, Charles M. Ellinwood of Hoboken, NJ. She is also survived by her nephew/godson D. Scott Nettleton and niece Caroline Nettleton, both of Rye, NY. In addition, she is survived by her paternal grandfather, Richard Ellinwood of Palm Harbor, Florida and many aunts, uncles and cousins. Maureen was honored at a memorial service in Zurich, Switzerland on Thursday, September 28th. The family will be receiving friends from 2:00PM-4:00PM and 7:00PM-9:00PM on Friday, October 6th at St. Rose of Lima Church (50 Short Hills Avenue, Short Hills, NJ). A Mass of Christian Burial will take place beginning at 11:15AM on Saturday, October 7th, also at St. Rose of Lima Church. Immediately following Mass, there will be a reception at Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, NJ. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests that donations be made to any of the following three causes that were special to Maureen: • New York Times “Sponsor a Subscription” Program • USA Swimming Foundation’s “Make a Splash” Initiative • Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child, Summit, NJ Information on each can be accessed via the following website: www.maureenellinwoodpluvinage.org