By Sallie Bachar
Catholic Herald correspondent

Millie Roman: A half-century of cooking

MERRILL -- A love of cooking and a love for people led Millie Roman into a ministry that is still going strong after 52 years. Roman, who is 77 years old and a member of St. Francis Xavier in Merrill, can often be found in the parish kitchen.

She started out assisting the head cook at St. Francis in 1953. At first, she said, she cooked for wedding dinners, anniversary and Christmas parties and other events that parish members requested dinners for. The largest dinner she ever served was a Christmas party for a local manufacturing firm. "There were 301 people," she said, "and we even had to set tables up on the stage. It was the biggest I've done, and never again!"

Eventually the parish eliminated serving all but funeral dinners, but Roman still found other ways to do what she loves best. She has headed up the breakfast crew at the church's food stand at the Lincoln County Fair for many years, fills in when needed at the school's hot lunch program and is always sharing her talent at most parish functions. Most recently she has added her cooking skills to the church's Lenten fish fries, which started two years ago.

Reflecting back, Roman said she has cooked and prepared more dinners than she can count. "Every cook's worry is running short of food," she added. "I came close sometimes, but I never ran out."

Her greatest joy is preparing and serving funeral dinners for the families of deceased parishioners. "So many people come and thank us that they can get together at their own church. They are so grateful and it makes you feel really good." The biggest challenge, however, is getting enough people to prepare and serve the meals. The young women are too busy, she said, and the older ones are getting older and unable to help. Consequently, most of the hot, homemade items that used to be served had to be eliminated. "I can't find enough workers any more to come in early to peel potatoes and prepare the hot meals," she said.

Besides ministering to the church, Roman and her husband Alfred (Butch) owned a body shop in Merrill, and for the first five years she worked side by side with him. "We couldn't afford any help," she said. "Butch pounded out the dents and I sanded and puttied."

She also ran an upholstery business out of her home for 32 years and then was a cook at Lincoln Hills Correctional Institution for another 15 years. Despite a busy life, her schedule was always flexible enough to allow her to prepare funeral dinners on a moment's notice.

She has three sons, five grandsons and two great-grandchildren, one of which is a girl, the first in the family in three generations. Her husband passed away in March, only months after celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. "I prayed and prayed that Butch would make it to our anniversary in July, which he did," she said. "We had many years together. Many people don't make it that far. We were so blessed."

Roman was honored with a bouquet of fresh flowers and a plaque from the church which acknowledged her fifty-plus years of service. Fr. James Horath, St. Francis pastor, surprised her with the award at an appreciation dinner for all the church's volunteers on April 17. Expressing his gratitude to the many people who, in countless ways. help to keep the parish running, he said, "Volunteers are truly the backbone of the parish, but once in awhile one person will stand out from all the rest. That person is Millie Roman who has been cooking almost as long as I've been living."

Is Roman ready to retire? "Not yet," she said. "I want to do it until I can't any more."

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2005