Marguerite "Marge" S. Romano

Marge was born in Chicago on September 9, 1925. She was the third of four children to Amber and Ina Andrews. Her siblings, George, Dorothy Jean, and Ruth preceded her in passing. As did her nephew, Dennis Andrews and her grandson, Michael Selling. She also outlived two husbands, Herb Selling and John Romano.

She is survived by many family members who loved and cherished her. Among these are her two sons, Vern-living with his wife, Sandra and mother-in-law, Veda in Punta Gorda, Florida and Rick from Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Her grandchildren include Jared Selling, (Florida), Ryan Selling (California), and Tracy Penny (Massachusetts). She had 3 great grandchildren, Laird Penny, Uriah and Micah Selling. Though she never met them, she was amazed and blessed to know that!

Other relatives include her niece, Cheryl Besenjak of Wauconda, Illinois and nephews Bud Gross of Scottsdale, Arizona and Rex Andrews. In-laws and children of nieces and nephews are too numerous to list, but God knows that she treasured each of them. Family was everything to her. Especially close to her were daughters-in-law Sandra Selling, Beth Selling Arvanitis, Carol Romano, and Jan Selling.

Marge was a simple and caring young girl who grew up in Chicago during the Great Depression. That forever impacted her outlook on spending money wisely and appreciating everything you had. She met the first and only love of her life, Herb Selling, at age 16 while attending Senn High School in Chicago. They were married on July 31, 1943 when Herb had leave from his military service during WWll. Vern and Rick were born in 1945 and 1946 respectively.

Marge set out to move from a small apartment in Chicago to a home in the suburbs. She went to work in 1954 and saved every penny to make that happen. Four years later on April 5, 1958, they moved into their beautiful home in Glenview, Illinois where she ended up living for 61 years! Herb loved her dearly while he managed 13 and 14 year old boys’ baseball in the Glenview Pony League for almost 25 years. He passed in April of 1981 and the baseball diamond was named after him in his honor. Marge loved to take out of town guests to that park. She re-married John Romano, a long-time family friend, in 1989.

She and John traveled to many great places together, including The Great Wall of China. Marge fulfilled her lifelong desire to travel. In fact, Marge did everything she ever wanted to do in life. In her final years she stated many times that she was “ready to go” that she had done everything she ever wanted to do in life and had absolutely no regrets. A good place for any of us to be as our years advance!

Marge amazed herself, and others, at what she accomplished. She served as President of the PTA in the 1950’s. She was active in Cub Scouts as a Den Mother for several years. But most of all, she loved her work of nearly 30 years with Combined Insurance Co. of America where she ended up working as W. Clement Stone’s personal assistant her last couple of years there. Stone is, of course, Mr. PMA (Positive Mental Attitude).

Marge learned, lived, and practiced PMA her entire life after grasping it in the 1960’s. In fact, she often spoke on the subject, most often at Women’s Forums. She loved working with women. As the Editor of Pride Magazine for nearly 10 years, she worked closely with the wives of Combined’s sales force (largely men in those days). Recently she noted that today’s women are more independent and aren’t as interested in supporting their husband’s careers!

Marge loved to cook and to garden. Even while working a demanding career, she found time to maintain beautiful rose gardens and vegetable gardens in addition to maintaining files on over 5,000 recipes---many of which she had tried!

She was a member of Glenview Community Church for over 40 years and served heartily there in the years after she retired. She attended women’s retreats and made many valuable friendships that gave her so much joy, especially in the latter years as it was more difficult for her to get out and participate. Her faith grew deeper roots due to these friendships and the wonderful community she found there.

Marge lived a life of generosity, kindness, and caring. Family and friends were always most important to her. She believed in her heart that Jesus would be welcoming her into His arms when her time came. We can only imagine what she is seeing now! O’ to speak with her now and to once again hold the hand that has vanished! We do not grieve as the world grieves due to our hope in the very words of Jesus Christ, our Savior who promised us He would come back for us, if we would simply trust in Him and follow Him to the best of our ability. A free gift of eternal life—received by simple, abiding faith.

In lieu of flowers, Marge requests donations to Glenview Community Church Treasure House, Re-Sale Store, or Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly who took such good care of her beloved, Nephew, Dennis Andrews.

A memorial visitation will be held Friday, April 22, 2022 from 4:00 to 8:00 PM at Wm. H. Scott Funeral Home, 1100 Greenleaf Ave, Wilmette, IL 60091. A memorial service will be held Saturday, April 23, 2022 at 12:00 PM at Wm. H. Scott Funeral Home.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.WmScottFuneralHome.com for the Romano family.