Marcia Ann was born at the Cresco Hospital in Cresco, Iowa on April 15, 1934, to Vernon and Marjorie (Boland) Miller. She passed away on Sunday, August 4, 2024, at Huntington Place in Janesville.
She grew up on a farm West of Harmony, Minn. Marcia attended the Bristol Grove County K-8 grade school. She attended Harmony High School from 1948 until 1952. While in high school, Marcia was very active and involved in band, choir (as a soprano soloist), a member of a trio, quartet and sextet all four years. She was the senior editor of the school annual for 1952, a member of many clubs and a main character in plays all four years. She loved those experiences and the years in high school.
She entered Luther College from 1952 until 1954 to become an elementary school teacher. Upon completion of her training, she accepted a teaching position in Beloit, Wis., at Todd Elementary School as a second-grade teacher. She also taught at Waterman, Burdge, Merrill and Robinson Elementary schools and Lincoln Jr. High. Marcia met her future husband, Arnold “Arnie” Lee, a sixth-grade teacher at Todd, in the boiler room on the first day teachers reported for work. They were married on August 13, 1955 at the Greenleafton Reformed Church in Preston, Minn.
Marcia is survived by her brother, Robert (Carol Scrabeck) Miller; three children: Todd (Peggy Bowen) Lee of Janesville, Wis., Lory (Skip) Larsen of Beloit, Wis., and Kent (Jenner Hall) Lee of Winona, Minn.; five grandchildren: Amy (Willy Wait) Lee of Madison, Wis., Katy Lee of Madison, Wis., Cory Bricco of Beloit, Wis., Thomas Bricco of Beloit, Wis., and Alexandra Lee of N. C.
Marcia had been involved with the culinary arts for most of her life. Her first cooking experience was at the age of five when her mother was sick. With a large farm and helping to feed, skipping meals was not an option. Her mother coached her from the sick bed while her dad made a little stool so she could reach the height needed in a kitchen. Her professional cooking began when she worked at a summer camp in Montello, Wis. This was a six-week camping experience for boys and funded by the Federal Title I program. Her next cooking experience came when she ran the “Dinner Pail” restaurant in the Beloit School Administration office in the Kolak Center. Wanting to try her hand at owning a restaurant, she bought a restaurant and named it “On Wisconsin,” which was located on Wisconsin Ave., where the family lived. She sold the restaurant and became the head cook at the Beloit Community Based Residential Facility in Beloit. To this date, she continued to collect and develop recipes. No doubt she has one of the largest collections of recipe books.
Marcia loved decorating, cooking and baking, and was a very social person.
Arnie often claimed that he had his special chef with a wide variety of menus from which to choose each day. In the later ‘90s she became the main caterer for many funerals at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. When she turned 80, she thought it was time to retire. However, in January of each year, she still baked breads, cinnamon rolls, etc., for the Intermediate Women’s Club card parties at the Butterfly Club. Beyond her skill in the culinary arts, she also served and volunteered in many organizations of the church and the community. She also provided coffee, juice, breads, cinnamon rolls and fresh fruit for the Beloit Area Retired Educators Association for a time.
Marcia was past president for the Intermediate Women’s Club from 1990 until 1999 and again 1999 until 2000. She also chaired two past style shows from the Women’s Club. Marcia was a past president for the PTA at Hackett and past president for the PTA at Memorial. She was the recipient of a 63-year pin for service as a volunteer at the Beloit Health System, starting in the days of the old hospital on the west side. She served as a secretary for the PEO Chapter in Beloit and as courtesy chairman of the club. Marcia and Arnie were members of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church for over 65 years. She sang in the choir and from time to time was a soloist. She was a member of the Rachel Circle at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church and the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (WELCA) member and officer. Marcia taught Sunday School at Our Savior’s for years and especially loved the high school age. She had as many as 24 students every Sunday. Marcia also studied for two years the Bethel Series in the early ‘60s and taught the course for four years at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. She was a president for Women of the Lutheran Church of America (WELCA) for four years, and a co-president from 2013 until 2018. As a member of the Beloit Stateline Golden K Kiwanis Club from 1979 to the present, she served as president for two terms and on the board for 17 years as treasurer. She also served two terms as a Capitol Region trustee for the Wisconsin Upper Michigan Kiwanis District and as a Lt. Governor for six years. She was awarded the Hixson, the highest honor a Kiwanian can receive.
Marcia was an avid reader in her free time, which was not very frequent. She daily thanked God for all the blessings and gifts she had received all of her life. Her saying would be, “Thank God for every day and enjoy every day for as long as you live.”
A funeral service for Marcia will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, August 15 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 749 Bluff St., Beloit, Wis., with Pastor Tony Dusso officiating. Burial will be in East Lawn Cemetery. Visitation of Remembrance will be held from 10 a.m. until the time of service Thursday in the church. Daley Murphy Wisch & Associates Funeral Home and Crematorium, 2355 Cranston Rd., Beloit, Wis, assisted the family with arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, memorials in her name may be made to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at daleymurphywisch.com.
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