| A Tribute To Honor The Life And Memory Of Dorothy Rumsey Miller |
August 3, 2012 |
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Anna Eshoo, D-CA
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"Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life of Dorothy Rumsey Miller, a lifelong resident of Contra Costa County and native of Richmond, California, who passed away on July 8, 2012, at the age of 97 years old, surrounded by her devoted family after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Dorothy Rumsey Miller is survived by four children, including our distinguished colleague in the U.S. House of Representatives, her son Congressman George Miller III of California’s 7th Congressional District, his wife Cynthia and three exceptional daughters, Laura Miller of Martinez, Gretchen Miller of Martinez, and Kat Miller of Mexico; four wonderful grandchildren, George Miller IV (Wendy) of El Dorado Hills, Stephen Miller (Kathleen) of Lafayette, Michael D’Aloisio and Sam D’Aloisio (Barbara) of San Francisco and ten beautiful great-grandchildren and two nephews. Dorothy Rumsey Miller was the daughter of Sea Captain John Rumsey and Laura Rumsey. She graduated from Richmond High School and attended the University of the Pacific. She was an accomplished and dedicated artist, who for more than fifty years, painted with her Point Richmond artist group where her passion and love of arts and the water were expressed on her canvases. As an entrepreneur she successfully opened and managed Rumsey’s restaurant, and went on to be one of the proprietors of Mama’s Mercantile, both in Martinez. Dorothy was an avid reader of all books, including eastern and western spirituality. In her earlier days she volunteered at Loaves and Fishes, and the Special Olympics. As one of the original Women of the Waterfront, a group which helped develop the Martinez Waterfront Park, Dorothy’s daily walks brought her great peace and solace throughout her life. Dorothy’s greatest joys were her children, her family, and her friends. The Miller home was always a safe haven and a warm gathering place for the young and old seeking her sage advice and loving ways. Through her wonderful wit, eccentricity, humor, counsel, and spirit she was able to share her wisdom and laughter with her children. Dorothy was predeceased by her sister Laura Carey and her distinguished husband, State Senator George Miller Jr. who passed away in 1969, while serving California’s 7th State Senate District. Senator Miller was a highly respected legislator, recognized for his warmth, vigor, vision, courage and tremendous accomplishments as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Mr. Speaker, I ask the entire House of Representatives to join my colleagues—Leader Nancy Pelosi; Representative Mike Thompson; Representative Doris Matsui; Representative Lynn Woolsey; Representative Barbara Lee; Representative John Garamendi; Representative Jerry McNerney; Representative Jackie Speier; Representative Pete Stark; Representative Mike Honda; Representative Zoe Lofgren; Representative Sam Farr; Representative Dennis Cardoza; Representative Jim Costa; Representative Lois Capps; Representative Brad Sherman; Representative Howard Berman; Representative Adam Schiff; Representative Henry Waxman; Representative Xavier Becerra; Representative Judy Chu; Representative Karen Bass; Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard; Representative Maxine Waters; Representative Janice Hahn; Representative Laura Richardson; Representative Grace Napolitano; Representative Linda Sanchez; Representative Joe Baca; Representative Loretta Sanchez; Representative Bob Filner; and Representative Susan Davis—in extending our deepest condolences to Dorothy’s children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nephews, and friends, as well as her caregivers who were so loving and dedicated to her over an extended period of time. We celebrate Dorothy’s life and her accomplishments, and we are proud to honor her memory in the House of the People. Our nation has lost a beloved citizen who made her community stronger and our country better."
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| In Memory Of Kathy Radke And Her Contributions To Our Community |
February 15, 2011 |
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George Miller, D-CA
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"The woman largely responsible for protecting Mt. Wanda from development, conserving the Franklin Hills as open space and galvanizing community support for Alhambra Creek died this week: Kathy Radke passed away on Monday from pancreatic cancer. She was 71. During her two terms on the Martinez City Council, Radke focused on water quality issues and worked to bring cleaner water to Martinez residents. Later, the geriatric peer- counseling program she created became a model for others around the state. Another late career change saw her becoming licensed as a conservator, managing financial and health matters for elderly patients. On Wednesday, her son Dylan Radke, currently the chair of the Parks, Recreation, Marina and Cultural Commission, spoke about his mother’s life and touched on the many roles Kathy played in the civic life of Martinez. Born in December of 1939 and raised in Chicago, Kathy was the middle of three sisters. Her father Otto ran a family beer distributing business, said Dylan, and she attended the Chicago Commercial High School, graduating at age 16. For a few years Radke worked for the American Medical Association in Chicago and then New York City as an executive secretary until she volunteered for the newly-established Peace Corps. The Peace Corps took her to rural Guatemala, where she taught nutrition and trade skills. When her stint was up, she moved to San Francisco and enrolled at San Francisco State to earn a B.A. There she met Ted Radke, who was a fellow student and served as a teaching assistant for one of Kathy’s classes. The two were married and she dropped out when the pair moved to Martinez and had their first child, Harold Theodore III in 1969. Asked the reason his parents chose Martinez, Dylan said it was a combination of his paternal grandparents living here and his father securing a job at what was then called the Abandoned and Abused Children’s Center, across from the County’s Juvenile Hall. Dylan was born in 1971, at a time when Ted was mounting his first political campaign. Kathy was the key staffer on Ted’s campaign for City Council, which he won. Ted served for one term on the Martinez City Council before being elected to the Board of the East Bay Regional Park District in 1977, a position he still holds. “During that same time, both my parents helped found the Contra Costa Ecology Action,” said Dylan. “They were trying to draw attention to environmental issues; how pollution, poor air and water quality affect health. It was an environmental advocacy group.” Ted left county social services for a teaching position at Contra Costa College while Kathy worked as a secretary for the Martinez Unified School District and subsequently the local electrician’s union. Ted’s campaign had apparently inspired Kathy to public service, as she was elected to the City Council in 1982 and served for two terms. She ran for Mayor in 1984, but lost to Mike Menesini. “Although the office is non-partisan, my mother would not be ashamed to be identified as a Democrat. She was really into water quality; it was a hot issue then due to the proposal of the Peripheral Canal idea. She was also dedicated to maintaining Martinez’s small town character,” said Dylan. “Mom was active in trying to protect the Franklin Hills [from development] and same with Mt. Wanda. She worked with George Miller to get Mt. Wanda to become part of the John Muir National Historic Site.” Former Council member Peter Langley said this week that he and Kathy were very close friends when they served together on the Council. “We were both on the water subcommittee and what we were trying to do was get better water quality for Martinez,” said Langley. “Kathy was very much an environmentalist. One of the issues was a development in the Alhambra Hills, which is still before the City Council and we turned down several proposals for the Franklin Hills. South of Highway 4 where Alhambra Valley Road shoots off from Alhambra, there is a place where there is a sort of natural entrance to the hills, a canyon, and there was a guy who wanted to put a development there,” which Radke opposed. Langley said that one couldn’t dislike Kathy Radke. “She had a very sunny personality, very warm,” he said. Dylan Radke said after his mother left the Council, she returned to finish her Bachelor’s degree at Cal State Hayward. She went on to earn a Master’s in Human Development and started working on a second Master’s in Public Health when she was recruited by Contra Costa County to do geriatric social work. When he was on the Board of Supervisors, now-Senator Mark DeSaulnier proposed creating a senior peer counseling program and asked Kathy Radke to head it up. “The program was very successful and become a model for others,” said Dylan. “She set up a fabulous peer counseling program that’s been copied elsewhere,” said Radke’s friend Harriett Burt. In the mid-90s, Radke was appointed to the John Muir Health Board of Directors and ran for Board of Supervisors, but was defeated by Gail Uilkema. After retiring from her County position a few years ago, Radke started a new career by obtaining her license as a fiduciary conservator. “Conservators are people who manage the care for people who are unable to do it, older adults who no longer have the capacity to manage their financial affairs,” said Dylan. “Conservators are court-appointed and Mom would essentially make sure they are being seen by doctors and bills are being paid, it enabled them to continue to live longer in a home environment.” In the late ‘80s, Kathy and Ted Radke helped found the Friends of the Alhambra Creek organization. “There was concern over the accumulation of debris and trash in the creek and with more development in [Alhambra Valley], also watershed issues. [The founders] were primarily trying to restore the creek to a natural flow and making sure it was healthy for fish, turtles, and of course, beavers,” said Dylan Radke. “[Kathy], along with Igor Skaredoff and Jane Moore, those three would organize creek cleanups because they saw the creek as vital to the downtown and [Alhambra] valley ecosystem.” “The first time I met [Kathy], Shirley [his wife] and I went to a slide show by the Friends of Alhambra Creek. Several members had hiked to the source, in Briones, and took pictures. That’s when we joined FAC, circa 1990,” Skaredoff said Wednesday in a telephone interview. “We hit it off and started doing things together like surveys and creek cleanup. Kathy and I designed a little brochure [about the creek]. Kathy also created a creek protection ordinance for the City of Martinez that is still in the General Plan. It’s a great legacy from her; it’s actually written into the General Plan how to protect [the creek].” Turning to the more personal attributes of Radke, Skaredoff described Kathy as possessing a great sense of humor. “Always she could find something to laugh about, something positive. Whenever you were around her you always felt better, she had that way about her,” said Skaredoff. “She was a vital force. I’m very happy I met her and our community was so much better off with her in it.” Jane Moore also became close to Radke after joining the Friends of Alhambra Creek, and later worked on Radke’s campaign for the County Board of Supervisors. “I’ve been meaning to look up the definition of this word, although it’s usually used in a negative way, because Kathy always comes to mind when I hear it: instigator. She was an instigator in the best sense of the word, in the way she got ideas going, got people interested in ideas, instrumental in showing people how to use their best potential,” said Moore. “I wouldn’t be doing the work I’m doing without her, she inspired me to get my degree. The loss of Kathy Radke is a huge loss to Martinez and Contra Costa County. She was pivotal in so many people’s lives, programs and services. She was an incredibly important person, giving and generous.” Another friend who had known Radke for many years, Sheila Grilli, said described her death as “such a loss.” “We were political cohorts: I ran for City Council when she ran for Mayor. She was fair and well liked, and a happy person. We traveled together a couple of times a year to Mexico and Hawaii—and she was easy to get along with, energetic and open to suggestions. It’s hard to imagine that someone as dynamic and interesting is gone,” said Grilli. Dylan said traveling the world was one of his mother’s passions. “She couldn’t do it enough, she been all over the world,” said Dylan Radke. “She also loved to camp, especially with the family, and she loved to garden.” Anyone who has visited the Radke home was witness to Kathy Radke’s passion for gardening. When he was young, Dylan said his parents maintained huge planters for kitchen garden crops; about 15 years ago, Kathy transformed the back yard into an Asian-themed wonderland. Besides raising their two biological children, Kathy and Ted Radke served as foster parents to three children. Trying to remember all of his mother’s accomplishments, Dylan added that Kathy was also a licensed social worker on top of all her other achievements. “She passed the social work exam right after I passed the bar,” to practice law, said Dylan. Dylan’s wife Deidre Seguenza said Wednesday afternoon the family had set a date for Kathy’s funeral; it will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at St. Catherine’s in Martinez. “She will be greatly missed,” said Seguenza with heartbreak in her voice."
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