Marguerite Anne Reilly

Born in 1922 in a small logging town on the border of Washington and Idaho, Marguerite moved to Bend, Oregon with her family as a child. She was the second of three children, daughter of Irish immigrant, Pat Kiernan, and was raised in Bend when it was a town of 10,000.

With the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Marguerite served her part by joining the secretarial pool at Camp Abbot, now the site of Sun River. Later, she and her best friend, Margaret Tennyson, accepted positions in San Francisco, and then at Fort Lewis in western Washington. It was during this time away from home that she lost her young brother to illness, something that affected her deeply as evidenced in her lifelong quest for good health and her selfless care giving.

It was at Fort Lewis where she met the love of her life, Denis Reilly, a young training Sergeant from Philadelphia. Her father took an immediate liking to the lad from Ireland when he found out they had emigrated from neighboring counties in Ireland. Marguerite and Denny met on the steps of the base’s military chapel, and were married in that same chapel in 1944. She often joked that wartime marriages didn’t last, but her marriage to Denny lasted 70 years until his death in 2015. She and Denny moved to NE Portland and raised 5 children.

She was a lifelong learner and a constant reader, and she steered her children toward developing physically, spiritually and mentally. She was ahead of her time advocating vitamins, nutrition and healthy lifestyles for her children, and gifted helpful books to any of her offspring who were experiencing difficulties. She was active most of her adult life in St Charles parish where after retirement she volunteered as the parish secretary, then president of St Vincent DePaul. Marguerite had a strong sense of social justice and could debate diverse subjects. She challenged each of her children, encouraged critical thinking, and was a strong role model. When her neighbors ran to the back yard to avoid proselytizing missionaries, Marguerite would invite them in, listen respectfully, then correct their scripture and attempt to convert them. She could hold her ground in any argument while remaining respectful. She became active in POP (Portland Organizing Project) and was instrumental in passing ordinances that saved homeowners money during Portland’s sewer conversion project. When the family needed money for tuition and greater opportunities for her children, she returned to the workforce, retiring from Mobil Oil sales office located at the Lloyd Center.

Life-long learner, encouraging, challenging, devoted and devout, Marguerite’s corner stones were her marriage, her family and her faith. She died just a few weeks before her 99th birthday. She is survived by her 5 children: Sally Gennett, Kathy Reilly, Larry, Tom and Jim Reilly; and by 9 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held at Saint Charles Catholic Church on January 8th. Rosary will be at 10:30 followed by a funeral mass at 11am. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Society of St. Vincent de Paul, P.O. Box 42157, Portland, OR 97242-0157.