Millie Mrja
Photo
Millie's obituary
MILLIE MRJA
Sassy, strong, intelligent,
independent, loving and loyal, that was Millie Mrja.
Her parents immigrated in
1924 to Carson Lake, Minnesota, an iron mining “location” near Hibbing a year
before she was born. Her father worked in the mine, as did all the other men in
the location. Nearly all came from Yugoslavia. The Depression was very hard on
all the families who helped each other survive. Her loving mother made dinners
of bean soup, homemade bread and
whatever came out of the garden. Millie loved Carson Lake, spending time
outdoors with her three siblings. She stayed close to her childhood friends for
life. She loved the freedom of riding horses and motorcycles. She was a top
student who excelled in math and was always stylish. Upon graduating from high school, she boldly
applied to work at the Hill-Annex mine during WWII. She became the first and
only woman working at the mine—with 520 men. She and 6 men did the payroll by
hand for all the miners. While she did seven pages of giant payroll ledgers
every week, her male colleagues did one page each. They got $400 per
month. She got $90. But she overcame the
challenges, took college courses, and expanded her horizons.
Millie moved to Minneapolis in
1949, working as an accountant at many companies such as General Mills, Butler
Manufacturing, a diamond importer, a popular dinner theater, and W.W. Clark
Corp. whose CFO told her “Millie if you were a man, you’d be president by now”.
For a short time, she moved back to Hibbing and worked for Kehne Electric. Her
childhood neighbor, Rudy Perpich, a state senator, sought her help to run for
Lt. Governor. Along with her dear friend
Gabriel Brisbois, they ran an excellent campaign resulting in Rudy’s victory. In
those days the Lt. Governor presided over the Senate, so Rudy asked Millie to work
for him at the Capitol. Millie handled everything from legislation, constituent
services, budgeting, procurement, scheduling and press inquiries. In short, she
got stuff done. Millie loved the hubbub of working in the Capitol and made
lifelong friends there. Rudy ultimately became the longest serving Governor of
Minnesota and Millie held several positions in state government, finally
retiring as the Assistant Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Economic
Security.
Millie was always active in
the church. She was the financial secretary of St. Michael’s in Hibbing and
coordinated the fund-raising for the construction of its beautiful sanctuary.
After retirement she served for ten years as the Treasurer of St. George
Serbian Orthodox Church in San Diego.
Millie lived a glorious and
fulfilling 98 years surrounded by loving friends and family. She had an innate
ability to make friends with people of all ages and backgrounds. She kept in
touch with hundreds of people by email, cards, and letters right up until her
peaceful passing. She never forgot a friend’s birthday or telephone number. She
was a bookworm who devoured historical biographies, a crossword enthusiast, and
read three major newspapers daily. She was incredibly sharp, knowledgeable, and
interesting and loved a good political debate. Most of all, she was truly
interested in people, asking questions and always helping them when needed.
People sought her approval. When she committed to something, she was a
formidable force of nature. She pioneered her own path at a time when many
women could not.
Millie is survived by her
daughter Pamela Naughton of San Diego, CA and her beloved grandchildren Mary
Naughton of Santa Monica, CA and Avery Naughton of Arlington, VA, as well as
three nieces: Joanne Kampf, Ellen Mrja, and Christine Kopp and ten grandnieces
and grandnephews.
Millie would ask that any
donations in her name be directed to St. Michael Church at 701 East 40th St in
Hibbing, MN 55746.
Send to someone
Want to stay updated?
Share this memorial website
Share with others
