Obituary of Marsha Lenore Rome Miller

Marsha Rome Miller was born in 1941 in Tacoma, WA to Ben and Freida (Fuxon) Rome. She grew up in nearby Fircrest, WA, where she participated in many social clubs, was bat mitzvah’d at Temple Beth El, and attended Tacoma’s Stadium High School. She graduated from the newly-built Wilson High School as a member of their very first senior class, where she was elected student body secretary.

Marsha met Lee, her husband and lifelong partner in parenting, entertaining and traveling at a University of Washington fraternity weekend in the spring of 1959 next to Black Lake, WA. They each attended the event with other dates (she was still in high school at the time). They reconnected the following fall during Marsha’s freshman year at UW, and not long after, became inseparable. She received her BA in Education just after marrying Lee in late 1962.

The couple continued living in Seattle for a year and a half while Marsha worked at her first teaching job in Bellevue and Lee finished his master’s degree. They then moved to Stockton, CA for Lee’s work as an urban planner while she continued teaching in Stockton until the birth of their first daughter. 

In 1969, pregnant with their second child, Marsha and Lee moved to Eugene to be near their families in the Pacific Northwest. They remained close with their Stockton friends, with whom they enjoyed visiting, traveling and celebrating important life events, throughout the rest of their lives.

The family was completed the following year with the arrival of their third child, and Marsha became a fun and active stay-at-home mom, always happy to plan day trips and activities with her children and marching in war protests with them while pushing the baby in a stroller. She began substitute teaching in the 4J district before returning to school at The UofO to obtain her master’s degree in the field of education, specializing in multicultural education. She worked in several 4J elementary schools as a classroom teacher and librarian for over 20 years.

Eugene proved to be an ideal home for Marsha as she became active at Temple Beth Israel, serving as the Sunday school principal in the 1970s. At TBI she led in the creation of the first annual Blintz Brunch (w/ her good friend Rosemary), which later included the Such-a Deal Sale, an important fundraiser for the congregation.

Marsha was well known in her community for her love of nourishing family and friends through food and was always happy to cook and bake for others. Even with her limited mobility in recent years, she was reluctant to part with her large collection of disposable food containers that she saved for taking meals to those who needed them.

Marsha served on many boards of directors, including First Book Club, Women’s Gift, Temple Beth Israel and The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education. In recent years, she and Lee helped serve the community breakfast at the First Christian Church. She also enjoyed a vibrant and fulfilling social life with many amazing lifelong friends and clubs: book groups,  mah-jongg club, and her spa gals coffee and birthday groups, made up of the friends she met at Oakway Fitness.

After an earlier trip to Israel and Europe in the 1980s, Marsha and Lee were fortunate to start enjoying  retirement starting in the late 90s with more extensive travel. They visited  Mexico annually for 19 consecutive years, as well as The Baltics, China, Cuba, Italy, and England. They toured China, and floated the length of The Danube River. They also frequently ventured up and down the West Coast and to Canada.

Shortly after the birth of their first grandchild, Marsha and Lee bought a condo in Portland to be even closer to their family there and in Washington. Because of this, their three grandchildren were able to spend lots of time with their beloved Nana and Poppa who showered them with attention and love. This also allowed them to participate in life cycle events and celebrations in Portland.

This past November, Marsha and Lee were the The Jewish Federation of Lane County’s 2002 honorees. They were recognized for their decades of dedication to the Jewish community of Eugene and for being instrumental in its growth and development.

The family is grateful to the various Visiting Angels caregivers for their devoted, attentive and loving care of their wife and mother over the past year.

Marsha is survived by her loving and devoted husband Lee, daughter Beth Shreve (Andy), son Rick, daughter Joanna, brother David Rome, grandchildren Ben, Sarah and Daphne Shreve, as well as many loving nephews, nieces and cousins. All of whom she loved openly and fiercely. The feeling was mutual. She is preceded in death by her parents, Ben and Freida Rome and sister Stessi Boyd.

The burial service is scheduled for Thursday, March 2 at 2pm at Jones Cemetery in Portland.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, March 3 at 2pm at Temple Beth Israel in Eugene.

Any updates will be available at www.musgroves.com.

The driveways and parking lot will be cleared of snow for the March 2nd burial service.

Face masks are optional for the March 3rd memorial service in Eugene and are required for anyone attending the Friday night Shabbat service. Masks will be available at the synagogue.

The memorial service will be streamed on https://youtube.com/live/m-i8dRFc8Rs?feature=share

 People streaming will not be able to communicate into the service. The link can be found on Temple Beth Israel’s YouTube channel, at the top of the page: https://youtube.com/tbieugene

There will be time reserved at the memorial service for those who wish to briefly share stories and memories of Marsha. This will be available only for those in attendance at TBI. If you have something would like read at the service, it can be sent to Joanna Miller at: jo@joannaworks.com

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the following organizations:

• Jewish Federation of Lane County

• Temple Beth Israel, Eugene

• ALS Association, Oregon & SW WA Chapter

• Women's Gift

• Havurah Shalom, Portland

• Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education