Obituaries

MADISON – Helen Jeanette Rostad Miller, age 100, died on Saturday, April 24, 2021. Helen was born to Norwegian Immigrants, Jacob and Setona Rostad, on October 25, 1920 in rural DeForest, WI. She attended a one room grade school, graduated from DeForest High and from the Groves-Barnhard Business School in Madison. Helen married Loyd H. Miller on January 10, 1943. Helen was a stoic Norwegian in many ways and credited her longevity to her Viking blood.

Helen’s life was greatly impacted by her family background and by farm life during the Depression. She grew up in an area heavily populated by people of Norwegian heritage, but most had been in this country for a generation or more. Her family were the “newcomers.” She talked of being self-conscious and shy due to that newcomer status and her and her family’s broken English. Like now, children of the 1920s could be cruel to others who were different. She and her sisters particularly feared the “big boys” at school. Some farm boys, she said, attended school only sporadically and thus might still be in grade-school at 15 and 16 years old. Yet over the years she developed a quiet resolve and determination to achieve a better life. There were no school buses and the family did not have a car, so in order to attend high school she had to live in town. At age 13, for her freshman year, she moved into a rented room she shared with three other girls. For subsequent school years she lived with DeForest families, doing housework or providing child care in exchange for room and board. After graduating from DeForest High School in 1938 she moved to Madison and worked as a maid for a family on Hillington Way, on Madison’s near west side. After two years she had saved enough money to attend a nine-month course at the Groves-Barnhardt Business School located on State St. in Madison. By the time she graduated and found a job with Ed Phillips, a local wholesale firm, World War II had begun. She met her future husband, Loyd, in July 1942 while he was in the Army Air Corps and stationed at Truax Field, which was located on the current site of the Dane County Regional Airport. Six months later they were married at the Spring Prairie Lutheran Church near her parents’ farm. During the War the two moved together to Loyd’s postings at bases in Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. Helen, with her young daughter, returned to Wisconsin to live with her parents when Loyd was shipped overseas. After the War they settled permanently on Madison’s East Side.

For the rest of her life, Helen continued to exhibit that resolve to improve things for her family. In a biographical account she wrote years ago she says “after living in Madison for a short while, I could not see myself just sitting at home [with young children] and not contributing to our living expenses.” From that point in 1947 she always worked outside the home. For several years she waitressed nights so that Loyd would be home from work to care for their children before she had to leave. Later, when her children were older, she advanced from waitressing at the Maple Bluff Country Club to a long career as the Club’s Office Manager, retiring in 1986.

Helen represented many of the traditional values of her generation – devoted to her husband, her family, her church, and her home. She was a wonderful cook and homemaker, a quilter and known for her cookie, Krumkake, and Lefse making. She lived in the home she and Loyd built until she was over 99 years of age. In her biographical writings Helen says she and her sisters were envious of others who had grandparents and lots of relatives, because most of theirs had remained in Norway. She and Loyd made sure their grandchildren had no such reason for envy. For years every family birthday was celebrated around her dining room table with a menu tailored to the celebrant. Christmas dinner, usually prime rib, and presents were always on Christmas Eve at her home. Helen and Loyd Lived near Warner Park, long the site of Madison’s July 4 celebration. Another cherished family tradition was dinner followed by a walk to Warner for “Rhythm & Booms,” and then a return to Gramma and Grampa’s house to light sparklers and other small fireworks. As her grandchildren grew into adults, and she became a great-grandmother, she continued to take great pride in her family and remembered every birthday and commemorated every special occasion in all of their lives. Throughout their lives she remained close to her sisters Astrid and Ruth, to Loyd’s siblings, and to all of their families, and also to several of her cousins. As her generation passed, she has continued to value relationships with nieces and nephews, and the children of several cousins.

Holy Cross Lutheran Church, which she and Loyd joined in 1948, provided not only spiritual fulfillment but also a source of friendship and support which was particularly helpful to her as she aged. At Holy Cross she was active in the Ladies Aid, the Miriam Circle, and the Wednesday morning Bible study group. On behalf of the congregation she served as a member of the E.L.S. Women’s Missionary Society and volunteered at the Bethesda House of Thrift.

Helen kept an immaculate and well organized house. Even after she became legally blind she could somehow find and point out every spot missed when someone washed her picture window. She had a large collection of holiday and seasonal knick-knacks and decorations which she rotated and displayed with pride. She had an affinity for commemorative and decorative plates, and Norwegian Rosemaled items, which she displayed in China cabinets and hung on her walls. Possessing an incredible memory and being a meticulous record keeper, she could recall the origin of virtually every item in her home and quickly retrieve the receipt and instruction manual for every significant purchase, appliance,

or tool in the house. In her house there was always a place for everything, and everything was always in its place.

As the child of immigrants, Helen took great pride in her Norwegian heritage. She had life-long contacts with relatives in Norway. One of her most treasured memories was the 1970 trip to Norway she made with Loyd and with her father, Jacob. There she was able to meet relatives and see the birthplaces of her parents. She was surprised, but not upset, in 2018 when Ancestry analyzed her DNA and reported her make up as 75% British Isles and only 20% Scandinavian, but very pleased later when Ancestry’s refined data confirmed that she was 98% Norwegian!

Helen is survived by her children, Norma Romes and Harry (Marge); grandchildren, Randy (Ann Bloodhart) Romes, Chris (Angela Jaenke) Romes, Abbie (Andy) Norderhaug, Ted (Devlin Reynolds), and Nate; and great grandchildren, John, Evan, Setona, Ryan, Ellie, and Maddie. She is further survived by nieces, nephews, other family, neighbors, and friends. She is preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, Loyd; siblings, Selma and Norman Rostad who died in infancy, Astrid (Alfred) Reinen and Ruth (Kenneth) Hager.

A Funeral Service, adhering to Covid 19 protocols, will be held at NOON on Saturday, May 15, 2021 at HOLY CROSS LUTHERAN CHURCH, 734 Holy Cross Way, Madison, with Rev. Bernt Tweit presiding. A visitation will be held from 11AM until time of service on Saturday at the church. The burial will take place at Spring Prairie – Hauge Cemetery which is located on County Road C, north of County Highway V in Leeds, WI.

Special thanks for their caring support to: Pastors Bartels and Tweit and the Holy Cross congregation; Helen’s Windom Way neighbors; Dr. Briana Jelenc of UW Health, and to the staffs at Oak Park Place and Agrace Hospice. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Holy Cross Lutheran Church, the ELS Board for World Outreach Peruvian c/o Holy Cross Lutheran Church, or Wisconsin Public Radio. To view and sign this guestbook, please visit: www.ryanfuneralservice.com

Ryan Funeral Home & Cremation Services

2418 N. Sherman Avenue

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