Obituary of Miriam Marx

Miriam Marx, 87, passed at 4:45 pm on Friday, March 7 at the Highlands at Brighton Hospice in Rochester, NY, surrounded by her loving family. With the soul of an artist who always treasured learning, Miriam was many things throughout her life: published poet, ministerial candidate, political activist, scholar, feminist and women’s community builder… a lover of song, art, and life in all its forms. Miriam was born in Philadelphia, PA the child of Russian immigrant garment workers and raised during the Depression. She went to work immediately following high school and was married in 1945 to Werner Marx, a German-Jewish refugee. She arrived in Champaign-Urbana, IL in 1959 when her husband took a job at the University of Illinois as a Professor of German. Following his sudden death in Feb. 1965, she earned her BA and then MA in Comparative Literature, all while raising three children on her own. She earned her livelihood as a U of I teaching assistant and secretary. Fulfilling her husband's and her own wishes she took her children to Freiburg, Germany for a year of travel and study in 1970-1971. In 1972, she joined the Urbana Unitarian Church. Its offshoot the Red Herring Press published her poetry chapbook Armor and Ashes in 1982. She moved to Beijing, China in 1985 and served for two years as a foreign language instructor. Ever thirsting for meaning and fulfillment in life, in 1991 she began study to become a Unitarian-Universalist Minister, culminating in her graduation in 1997 with a Masters of Divinity. After nearly 50 years in the Champaign-Urbana area she moved to Rochester, NY in Dec. 2010 to be near family. She is survived by her children Ellen, Frederick, and Larry, daughters-in-law Deb Rosen and Tracy Seeley, son-in-law Bill Sherman, and granddaughters Emma, Natalie, and Naomi. Memorial services will be held 1 pm, Sunday, April 13 at Quaker Friends Meeting House, 1904 East Main Street, Urbana, IL. Home Rochester, New York Birthplace Philadelphia, PA