Marjorie J Worms

Surrounded by her loving family, my gracious and greatly beloved mother, Marjorie J Worms, peacefully departed this life at 7:10 P.M. on September 10, 2017 at MarKa Nursing Home in Mascoutah, Illinois.

Visitation for Marjorie will be Friday, September 15, from 11:30 A.M. until 1:45 P.M. at Saint John United Church of Christ, 55 West Church Street, Mascoutah, Illinois 62258. Her funeral will follow at 2:00 P.M. with the Rev Hugh Fitz presiding. Interment will be at the Mascoutah, Illinois City Cemetery. A fellowship meal featuring her favorite food, spaghetti, will be held at Saint John UCC after her interment.

Marjorie June Lill was the youngest child born to Attorney Herbert F Lill and his wife Flora Beineke Lill on June 24, 1926. From her father, Marj inherited her love of local history. From her mother, mom learned her kind, gentle, welcoming personality. Mom was a fourth generation native of Mascoutah. Mom loved soup, pasta, mashed potatoes, and black licorice, caramels and hot fudge sundaes, pecan pie, cats, especially my little gray cat Lilly, bunnies, birds, butterflies, and flowers, travel, music, pinochle and board games, reading non-fiction, word circle puzzles and above all, her family.

On April 20, 1946, at Saint John UCC, mom married the love of her life and her best friend, Elfred M Worms. They were happily married until dad’s death on December 15, 2004. Dad was the “boy across the street” with whom she enjoyed a lifetime of romance and adventures.  Mom and dad loved to travel. Their first trip together, their honeymoon in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, began a lifetime of travel to all 50 states except for Hawaii. They traveled to Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, Australia, Iceland, Morocco, Poland, Greece, Spain and Portugal, the British Isles, the Soviet Union, and more trips to continental Europe than I can recall. Mom’s very most favorite place of all was Munich, Germany where she loved the food, shopping, history and culture. Mom was able to reunite, meet and visit on several occasions with extended family living in her ancestral home of Reuschbach, Germany. Mom can trace her family tree on her father’s side back to 1760 to this small town in the Rhine Pfalz.

The Rev Jan S Worms is the only child born to their union. Jan is an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and a Medical Technologist MT(ASCP) employed at Gateway Regional Medical Center in Granite City, Illinois. Jan has her father’s beautiful blue eyes and blond hair and her mother’s smile, quiet manner, and her creative and musical talent.

With her elder sisters, Dot and Pat, and their spouses, mom wove together a tight knit, loving and caring extended family who enjoys celebrating holidays and family events together. An excellent cook and baker, mom’s chocolate macaroons and delicate, melt-in-your-mouth sugar cookie bunnies and trees were stars of the dessert table. Mom’s other specialties were fresh tomato macaroni, all sorts of soups, and an outstanding marinara sauce.

Marj was baptized, confirmed, married and will be buried from Saint John United Church of Christ. Mom loved her church and was an active, engaged church member throughout her life. For decades, she was the organist for Sunday services and other events throughout the week. She accompanied the choir and comforted many families with the music she played for countless funerals. Her organ music provided a joyful, festive background for innumerable weddings. At Saint John, mom taught Sunday School, VBS, served multiple terms on and held office on the church council, was a member of the Music and Worship Committee and served on several pastoral Call committees. Mom and dad were founding members of and active in the Fireside Couples club.

Mom taught private piano lessons in her home for many, many years. Her students included all of her nieces and nephews.

My mom was a talented seamstress, so mom, me and my dolls were always well-dressed. Banners she created continue to adorn the worship space of Saint John UCC and Saint Martin of Tours Lutheran Church in Mascoutah. Mom knit and created beautiful needlework. After dad passed she took up a new hobby making beautiful, creative, handmade greeting cards. Marj was a creative, talented floral designer and cake decorator. She took and excelled at every cake decorating and floral design class offered at Southwestern Illinois College.

Marj loved Mascoutah and was actively involved in the community. Her mother and mother-in-law Laura were among the founders of the Mascoutah Library and she served on the Library board. Mom was a founding member and officer of the Mascoutah Historical Society and for many years was the editor of their monthly newsletter, “ The Gazette .” Mom was one of a few who established the Mascoutah Heritage Museum.  She was a founding member of the Espenscheid Chapel Board and was active in the restoration and preservation of this historical structure. Both my mom and dad were fifty year volunteers for the American Red Cross. In 1999 Marj was honored as the Mascoutah Chamber of Commerce “Person of the Year.”

Marjorie was an expert on the history of Mascoutah. Her father Herbert wrote the book “ An Early History of Mascoutah to and including 1860 ,” a book which remains the standard, authoritative reference for this topic. Over the years, mom amassed, archived and cataloged a tremendous amount of Mascoutah history gleaned from her father and grandfather’s unpublished notes, the “Mascoutah Herald” and Mascoutah “ Anzeiger, ” local church historical documents and other sources.

Proceeding Marjorie in death are her great grandparents Peter and Katherine Steitz Lill, grandparents Attorney Peter W Lill and Anna Marie Naab Lill, parents Attorney Herbert F Lill and Flora Beineke Lill, her beloved husband Elfred M Worms, in-laws Arthur D Worms, Laura Stahler Worms Friess and Charles D Friess, sister-in-law and best friend Joyce Marie Worms who departed this life at age 16, in-laws Irvin and Alberta Worms, Lt Col Delmar USAF, ret. and Arlene Worms, Dr. William R Larson, Attorney Meryl Schroeder, nieces and nephews Attorney Gary Harter, Jane Larson, Attorney Robert Connolly, Attorney Mary T Balestri Schroeder, and her grandnephews Alexander Day, Brad and Chad Worms.

Surviving are her daughter The Rev Jan S Worms of Mascoutah, her sisters Dr Dorothy Lill Larson and Patricia A Schroeder. Nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews Attorney Nancy R Larson and William O’Hara; Kay Connolly; Kent Schroeder and Jeanette Materkowski; Matthew, Jiyeon and Hana Schroeder, all of Mascoutah, David R Day of Creve Coeur, Missouri, Michael and Brenda Highfill, Scott Highfill and his son Miles of North Little Rock,  Arkansas; Cdr. Brent Worms USN, ret and Michelle Kasper of Zeeland, Michigan; Gerald and Sandra Worms; and Mark Larson Harter and Jen Harter of O’Fallon, Illinois; Mark Foster Gage of New York City; Eric Magee Gage, Katherine Norem and Soren Gage of Chicago, Illinois; Gregory Schroeder  and Dr Christine Mallo of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Patrick Day of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Ryan and Meilani Connolly, Christopher and Timothy of San Francisco, California; Sarah Larson and her family; and Kristin Connolly and Clive Cullen of Perth, Australia.

Memorials may be made to Saint John United Church of Christ, 55 West Church Street, Mascoutah, IL 62258, or the Mascoutah Animal Hospital Stray Cat Care Fund c/o the Mascoutah Animal Hospital, 112 West Main Street, Mascoutah, Illinois 62258 or to Lutheran World Relief, PO Box 17061, Baltimore, MD 21298-9832.

Rest Eternal grant to your servant Marjorie, O Lord,

And may Perpetual Light shine upon her.