Sister Joanne F Leccese Relation to Deceased: Friend I have known Millie for over 40 years. She was a good neighbor to my parents who lived next door as well as my family that still enjoys our deceased parents’ home. She was a dynamic and highly motivated and independent woman – qualities that I am sure kept her going through many difficult situations. May she have a wonderful reunion in heaven, My condolences to her family and friends. The butterfly emerges from its silken shell- Reborn, it arises, no longer bound to earth. Free at last, the butterfly glides to heights unknown before. So do our loved ones find a beautiful release as, earthbound no more, they leave our sight and joyfully rise to a garden of matchless beauty, a place of light and peace. -Evelyn Phillips

john r brown Relation to Deceased: Son In Law Of all the Lithuanian proverbs one can find, there is one that fits Amelia Rascius Murphy Harding perfectly. In English, the proverb reads: “The person who gives…is a person who has.” Millie gave to each of us, to all of us, just about everything she had. Let’s review the many things Millie Harding gave us. First, Millie gave us all laughter. Her nickname through life? Silly Millie. Why? At the drop of a hat, she would sing and dance and laugh and joke. At first, some might laugh AT her, but she was so charming, and so genuine, everyone ended up laughing WITH her. She had a lengthy repertoire of jokes throughout her life, but as she got older, only a handful of these jokes was told, retold, over and over. Yet she always delivered them as if it were the first time. One involves a small boy who gets a black eye in church helping a lady with her dress…but …let’s save that for AFTER the mass. If you don’t know that joke, there are plenty of us who can repeat it for you. Next, Millie gave us all courage. Behind her constant smile was a woman who had endured and courageously overcame some of life’s biggest challenges…ones that would have meant the end to some of us. Members of her Lithuanian family stolen away in the night and sent to concentration camps. Losing her husband Thomas Murphy to polio and becoming a widow at an early age, then working day and night to help her daughter Kathleen and stepchildren Steven and Susan to grow up, and grow up properly. Losing her stepson Steven in a tragic auto accident. Losing her second husband Harold, not long after the two of them toiled many years, many nights, running the Edgewater restaurant. Getting breast cancer, and surviving it. Having a stroke, and surviving that. Breaking a hip, and not only surviving it, learning to walk again. Millie was in rehab more times than Lindsay Lohan…of course, we’re talking physical rehab! In facing all of this…all of us were taught some lessons…perhaps the most important of all…to never give up. Millie proved that life is worth living, no matter what. We all thought she’d outlive us all. Some people wonder why we are shocked that she died, after all, she was 92 and a half years old. Well, it’s all because she always told us, “I want to live forever, and I guess they’ll just have to shoot me on Judgment Day.” Millie gave us all help. There was a neighbor on Edgemere Drive, a young man she lovingly called, “The Boy,” who was the recipient of countless servings of her home-cooked meals, sent over in foil-covered dishes summer and winter for years, with never an expectation of favors returned. She spent years taking care of Grandma Groh, and Grandma Mazure. I think everyone here can recount a time when Millie’s generosity saved the day…I know I can… I know her daughters Kathy and Susan can…I know her grandchildren can…I know her family in Lithuania can…I know each and every one of her many, many friends can be thankful for that dinner, that lottery ticket, that Bingo card, that check, or that folding money. And perhaps more generous was that totally unexpected birthday card, or Happy Thanksgiving card, or Happy Ground Hogs Day card…Millie was never without a pen, stamps, and her trusty address book, making sure all of us might have a nice day. And finally, and most important, Millie gave us all love. A person who really cared for so many others. Millie had a heart of gold, but what truly sets her apart from the rest of the world can best be summed up by none other than the Wizard of Oz. “A heart is not measured by how much you love, but how much you are loved by others.” Yesterday at the wake, it was easy to see how much she was loved. You could see it in everyone’s faces as they all came to see her one last time. Aunt Margie who turns 90 soon. Lifelong friends like Ed and Lil Zinner, Dorothy Shannon, Bruce Steagal, and so many others. And of course, a huge family of children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins, and in-laws. The Murphys. The Grohs. The Schmidts. The Kromalechs. The Greens. The Browns. And on and on. Countless birthday parties, and when Millie was there, always, always the same song… “May you live a hundred years… May you drink a hundred beers… Get plastered, you…good girl… Happy Birthday to you…” All of us loved you, Amelia Rascius Murphy Harding. That’s all we could give back. We hope it was enough. The butterfly emerges from its silken shell- Reborn, it arises, no longer bound to earth. Free at last, the butterfly glides to heights unknown before. So do our loved ones find a beautiful release as, earthbound no more, they leave our sight and joyfully rise to a garden of matchless beauty, a place of light and peace. -Evelyn Phillips