Marilyn B. Romenesko

Marilyn Barbara Romenesko. An amazing woman.

I said at the start of this journey that Marilyn was, “An Amazing Woman”. You may wonder why, so I will give some of the highlights of why I said that.

The most notable thing was the love of her gardens and plants. We will start with Marilyn turning a dirty dusty field with sidewalks and buildings on it. She was strategic in placing flowers in open areas near sidewalks. She added ornamental trees among the established trees. By the time she left for a position on the east coast she had created a certified Botanic Garden.

When we moved to Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania Marilyn put in the sales agreement for our house that in the fall she could come back to the house dig up plants or divisions of plants. Guess what she flew back to Eau Claire and dug up the plants. She and our friend Shirley bare rooted every plant, wrapped them in wet newspaper and placed them in wax coated cartons and shipped them to Bryn Mawr. We moved to Pennington, New Jersey and guess what we dug up all the plants and moved them to Pennington. Three years later we dug up every one the plants we moved there plus the new plants she bought. The total plants moved to the house we purchased now numbered 123.

We moved to Talleyville, Delaware in January 2000. This is the last I can share with everyone for Marilyn’s Journey. This is the part that I believe is how Marilyn made me a better man!  We moved into a barren property. One birch tree in the front yard and small flower beds with annuals in them. Marilyn said to me “would you till up a four foot wide flower bed on the edge of our property.” I rented three rear tine tillers.  The first two were destroyed by all the roots and rocks. With the third tiller I finished the four foot wide flower beds. Lesson one this was not the end but the beginning. Over the years I recognized every year there was a one to two foot wide patch of brown dead grass. This meant Marilyn needed more bed space. The beds grew in most places to twenty feet wide. This meant Marilyn and Becca or Connie had to go shopping for more plants. The plants grew from 123 to over 2500 hostas, trees, and many other perennials. She had over 500 varieties of hoatas, 38 trees, and so many more plants. Marilyn signed up to be a member of the Delaware Valley Hosta Society (DVHS). Lesson two what Marilyn signed up for she signed Dan up also. This turned out to be a fantastic adventure. We met so many friends, visited so many gardens and had great eats and drinks.

Marilyn stepped up and became the Co-chair of the DVHS National Display Garden, Vice President for Programs and eventually President of the DVHS. She participated in many of the National Hosta Conventions. As she did before DVHS at the PHS Annual Flower Show. She won many, many, many Blue Ribbons against some of the best gardener in the world. Marilyn became so well known in the world of Horticulture that when ever I bought something at these national shows I would hear “Romenesko, do you know Marilyn”. All I could say was I am the man behind the woman, she is my wife. Lesson three when you are married to some one who is beautiful, hard working, intelligent, and caring you have to take the second chair.

Very similar to Marilyn’s success in DVHS she gained the respect for her leadership at Silverside Church. Marilyn became the Leader of the Flower Committee,  member of the church counsel, a member of the team rewriting the church constitution, the coordinator of the Women’s Night Out. She was also the person that managed all the grounds up keep and snow removal.

These are just a few examples of why I was so proud of her and why she was so successful in just about everything she did. I am so proud that she made me a better man. Honey I will miss you so much and I will love you until the day I meet you in heaven. I love You, I love You, I Love You. Your Husband Daniel.

Marilyn was born on January 15, 1951 to Charles E. Sample and Dorthy (nee Lindauer) in Appleton Wisconsin. She was the second of five children; First was Jeantte, then Charles II, Thomas, and Robert. In the early years the Sample family shared a house with Grand Ma  Lindauer on 3^rd Street. This was convenient because it was half way between Saint Mary’s school and Pierce Park. Places where they she could play and get in trouble. Marilyn went to Appleton West High School. In her senior year she began hanging around with students from Lawerance Collage and became actively involved in the Veitnam  anti-war movement. Marilyn went to Fox Valley technical collage and earned here degree as a Licensed Particle Nurse (LPN). She met her first husband and moved to Madison Wisconsin. On their property she began applying her gardening skills. Marilyn enrolled at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.  She participated in anti-war demonstrations.  In one demonstration the police began beating the demonstrators. A very good friend of hers who was a gifted piano player was being beaten by the cop. He put his hands on his head to prevent major physical damage.  Marilyn pushed the cop and got arrested. To support herself she bartended in a Tavern close to the state capital that was frequented by judges and politicians playing poker in a backroom. Of course playing poker for money was illegal in Wisconsin.

After Marilyn graduated from UW-Madison with a degree in Agriculture with a special emphasis in Horticulture, she and her first husband divorced. Marilyn worked at the University’s botanical garden and then moved to Oshkosh Wisconsin  and managed the Park Plaza plants and gardens. Next she took a large step forward in her career by accepting a position as the Manager of the grounds and physical plant. Marilyn advanced and became Director of Ground Management and Physical Plant at University of Wisconsin – Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin. During this time period Marilyn met Daniel Romenesko at First Congregational church – United Church of Christ. On the first day we met Marilyn was very cold from standing outside in minus 20 degree temperatures. She said can we get a cup of coffee? While we were enjoying coffee and a desert Marilyn suddenly shouted I have to go shopping. She got up and left. Later I found out she lived in Elk Mound Wisconsin that is located half way between Menomonie and Eau Claire Wisconsin. Elk Mound was a small town of approximately 400 people. There was no stores for groceries or any other goods. Eau Claire was a city of 60,000 people and had all kinds of stores. She went to Eau Claire each weekend to do her shopping and socialize. Marilyn belonged to many active clubs; Nordic and Alpine skiing, Conoe club, biking, white water rafting, and a few others.

Marilyn thought I should meet some new people from her clubs. She took me to a meeting and before she could introduce me people started calling  out to me, “Hey Romen”. She was baffeled, she said to me how do you know all these people? Well I told her that I lived with one of her  friends twin brother her best friends sister was living with  one of my other room mates. We Nordic skied all around Elk Mound and Eau Claire and in the National Forests that cover the upper third  of the state of Wisconsin. For several years we Skied in the American Birkebeiner a race of 55 km (34 mile) from Hayward to Cable Wisconsin. In the summer we biked every Wednesday for 30 to 50 miles. On weekends we biked in rides of 50 or 100 miles or 100 km. On one ride we crossed the Mississippi river and rode on bluffs in Minnesota. At the top of one hill there was a steep long run, we got in our tuck positions and headed down the hill. According to our speedometers we hit 50 mph on the skinny two wheeled bikes. The premier rides each year is the GRABAAWR that is the Great Annual Bicycling Adventure Along the Wisconsin River. This is a seven day 525 mile ride from the head waters in the upper peninsula to Prairie Du Chien where the river empties into the Mississippi river. This is over 70 miles per day. Our greatest canoe adventure was a week long trip into the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota. There are no roads, no bathrooms, no showers (you get wet in a lake then get out soap up and rinse off on the shore. You are also required to bag and take your solid waste out of the Boundary Waters.

Here is one more of the physical actives we did. We had been sea kayaking on Lake Superior for a couple of years. We went to Bayfield and hired guide to show some routes and he pointed out some caves that had been etched out by the lakes waves when the winds were high. We were told that it was safe as long as the Lake was calm. Marilyn paddles into one of the caves I came in behind her. As I paddled up next to her she paddled like mad to get out of the cave. This kind of ruined my plan, so I paddled out next to her and said will you Marry Me. She instantly said yes and I didn’t know what to do. This led to 35 year of exciting and fun years together. We did get married on April 07, 1990.

After we got married we purchased a house on McIver street in Eau Claire. Marilyn continued to work at University of Wisconsin – Stout for six years and then was asked to work at Bryn Mawr collage. This is when I began to learn about horticulture. Marilyn had a clause put in the sales agreement that in the fall she could return to our house in Eau Claire and take divisions or dig up whole plants. Marilyn and our friend Shirley bare rooted the plants, wrapped them in wet news paper and put them wax coated cartons and shipped them to Bryn Mawr. Marilyn taught me how to pot plants and plant them around campus. Marilyn and I used our bikes to get around Bryn Mawr, but took no long journeys. Marilyn did run into an uneven sidewalk and crashed her bike and broke five ribs. Soon after Marilyn’s ribs healed the company I worked for announces they were closing. I found another job in Sommerset New Jersey. Marilyn found out driving from Pennington New Jersey to Bryn Mawr was a grueling task. So she resigned from Bryn Mawr collage and enrolled at Rutgers University in New Jersey to get a Masters Degree in Public Administration. While studying at Rutgers she met several people who worked at Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS). Marilyn met with one of the people she met in her graduate program and was hire on the spot. She worked in the Philadelphia Green program. Marilyn led the project to transform the area at the intersection on the east side of the Platt bridge and along the fences of Sunoco Petroleum Company who sponsored the project. She also managed many other projects but for the last 10 of her 15 years at PHS she managed five premier properties. Marilyn managed the landscapes for; Philadelphia Museum of ART, the Azalea garden, Logan Square, Penns Landing, and Columbus Boulevard. People used to ask me what she did, I told them “She put some green in the god forsaken concrete they call Philadelphia”

Through all these years we were fortunate enough to see so many places and amazing things.

We visited the Hawiian Islands five times. We learned so much about the plants, geography, culture, fish and sea life. Also received our open water scuba diving certifications, swam, and snorkeled.

Exploring south east England and Paris were enlightening. Of course we learned so much more about plants and gardening. One of Marilyn’s Favorite gardens was in Fakenham, England just 10 kilometers from the North Sea. One of Piet Oudolf’s very early landscape designs, Millenium Garden – Pensthorp. We also spent time at; Great Dixter, Sissinghurst castle garden, RHS Wisley, and Royal Botanic Garden – KEW. Then off to Paris France where spent most of a day at the Louvre Museum, Also our favorite Musee d’Orsay and the elevated gardens. Other sights we visited were the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumphe, The Champs Elyees, the Seine River and Notre Dome Cathedral (before the fire). Last we went on a fantastic trip to Giverny one Monet’s homes.

Marilyn’s only trip to a Caribbean island was to Curacao an island known for it’s warm weather, fantastic beaches and coral reefs. Our primary purpose for traveling to this island was to snorkel in the waters that were only 50 miles from Venezuela. However we found so many other factors; we saw flamingoes in the wild that were turning PINK by eating the crustations. We also saw the monument honoring the Slave Revolt of August 17, 1795 that freed thousands of slaves by that night. It also defended the attach by the Dutch to recapture the slaves.

Marilyn took two commercial tours that were excellent. The Purpose of these tours was to learn about cultures, wildlife, geography, and history.

The first tour was of the Southwest United States. It started in Phoenix then went to the native American Cliff Dwellings, Sedona.  Then the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley where the jeep driver sang a Navaho healing song to her. We spent the night at Lake Powell and toured canyons on reservoir. Then to Bryce Canyon and the hoodoos, red, orange, and pink spirals. Last stop was Zion National Park where hundreds of feet high granite walls.

The tour was Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone Park.   The 2 days in Rapid City was a cultural experience. We then moved on to the Little Big Horn Battlefield, this was an appropriate fitting for the reason Custer and the troops were all killed.  Custer and hos troops were out west to wipe all the Native Americans of the face of the earth. Custer had gone into many villages and slaughtered the women, children, and old men. Several tribes combined to stop Custer and his troops from killing and more Native Americans. Marilyn’s next stop was Yellowstone National Park. We checked into the main lodge in Yellowstone that was next to old Faithfull. Yellowstone was the first National Park in the world. Yellowstone was the favorite of Marilyn’s parents. Next, we took a raft trip down the Snake river where views of the three peaks, some being over 12,000 feet seemed to be seen at every turn. This part of the trip there seemed to be a plethora of wildlife. Last stop on this excursion Salt Lake City. Where the Tabernacle choir performed.

Marilyn’s last trip was to heaven on Sunday April 13, 2025. Her purpose for this trip was to see her parents Chuck and Dorthy, brother Tom, and nephew Ryan. Her in-laws Monroe and Lenora and other folk that had gone before her. With all my Love Daniel.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, May 17, 2025 at 11:00 AM at Silverside Church, 2800 Silverside Road Wilmington, Delaware 19810.

A Celebration of Life will also be held on Saturday, June 7, 2025 at 11:00 AM at Emmanual UCC, 250 Sullivan Avenue Kaukauna, Wisconsin 54130.