2009 Senate Joint Resolution 31
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: the life and public service of Marjorie Midge Cavins Leeper Miller.
Whereas, Marjorie “Midge" Cavins Leeper Miller was born on June 8, 1922, in Morgantown, West Virginia, and died on April 17, 2009, in Madison, Wisconsin; and
Whereas, Midge earned a B.A. degree in sociology from the University of Michigan in 1944 and an M.S. degree in anthropology from the University of Wisconsin‐Madison in 1962; and
Whereas, Midge was widowed with four children after her first husband, Dean Leeper, died in a shipwreck during a typhoon in 1954 near Japan where the couple worked as missionaries; and
Whereas, after this tragedy Midge returned to the United States and, in 1958, moved to Madison to attend graduate school; and
Whereas, Midge became an assistant dean in UW-Madison's College of Letters and Sciences in 1960; and
Whereas, Midge married UW‐Madison professor Ed Miller, a widower with five children, in 1963, and they remained together until his death in 1995; and
Whereas, Midge Miller got her start in politics in the 1960s opposing the Vietnam War and working on anti‐war Democrat Eugene McCarthy's presidential campaign; and
Whereas, Midge Miller was first elected to the Wisconsin assembly in 1970, and served in the 1971 through 1983 sessions; and
Whereas, Midge served as chairperson of the Assembly Committee on Higher Education and Vocational Education (1983 session) and chairperson of the Assembly Committee on Commerce and Consumer Affairs (1977, 1979, and 1981 sessions); and
Whereas, along with Gloria Steinem and others, Midge helped found the National Women's Political Caucus in 1971 and helped create the Madison Institute, a local progressive think tank, in 1985, before retiring; and
Whereas, during her tenure in the legislature, she was a consensus‐builder who championed a number of progressive causes and she worked tirelessly to streamline state government; create and strengthen the University of Wisconsin System; expand consumer and environmental protections; preserve open politics and clean government; and make Wisconsin a leader in defending civil liberties and expanding civil rights protections; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the
senate, the assembly concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature commend the devoted public service that Marjorie “Midge" Miller contributed to this state and her community, express their sorrow at her death, and extend their condolences to her family and friends; and, be it further
Resolved, That the senate chief clerk shall provide a copy of this joint resolution to Midge Miller's children, Steve, David, Cedar, and Ken Leeper and Mark, Sterling, Nancy, Jeff, and Randy Miller.
