John Roman, grateful for it all
I, John E. Roman, of Lewes peacefully succumbed to pancreatic cancer Monday, May 8, 2023. I was 75.
I was born in Westfield, Mass. Lt. Col. Edward J. Rumanowski and Sophie (Maziarz) Rumanowski were my mother and father. We blossomed into a family of five, including my sisters Kathleen Loomis Babinski of Westfield, and Karen Cox of York, Maine.
I was privileged to enjoy six years of higher education, four at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., and two at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. In 1970, the draft summoned me. I experienced an enlightening and maturing tenure compliments of the U.S. Army in West Germany, working as a congressional correspondent for an administration company. Service completed, I relocated from Massachusetts to Baltimore.
The next 30 years were spent in marketing, writing, public relations and event management for a roster of corporate and nonprofit accounts in the Baltimore/Washington metro area. Highlights included working on the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay in Maryland, assisting the City of Baltimore with its Artscape and Fells Point festivals, working with Anne Arundel Medical Center's public relations arm in launching several components of its (then) new Route 50 Campus, and cooperating with the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center's Department of Patient and Family Services on its designer new-look project. (Phew!) I enjoyed the scope, diversity and challenges of those endeavors until opting for an early retirement and moving to Lewes in 1999. There, my partner/husband of 44 years, Bill McGee, and I launched Circa Home in the Hotel Rodney on Second Street. The store would remain a retail presence in the downtown community for nearly 13 years.
Linked to our retirement gig as local shopkeepers, we were happy to do stints as volunteers for Historic Lewes Farmers Market and Beebe Medical Foundation. Our assignment at the HLFM earned us the affectionate moniker of The Coffee Guys, a distinction we proudly embraced and enjoyed. Bill preceded me in death on Thanksgiving Day in 2021. I am happy to record that my life played out most satisfyingly, with zero regrets and zero to-do's left on my bucket list. Foremost, thanks to Bill McGee for finding me and dubbing me a life keeper. We were privy to over four decades of amazing experiences and global adventures, including a dazzling three-point-something-hour flight on the Concorde from New York to London. Bill, a nationally acclaimed interior designer, created extraordinary living environments for us during our tenures in Baltimore, Ruxton, Bethany Beach and Lewes. All received either regional or national recognition in print publications.
My family in Massachusetts and Maine kept me grounded, always eager to participate in reunions and our many family traditions. Now into a fifth generation begotten of Eastern European immigrants, we remain solidly cemented. Thank you to my nieces Natalie, Rebecca and Andrea, and nephew Nathan, for welcoming me into your lives, careers and families so enthusiastically and unconditionally; to brothers-in-law David and Billy, and to Jeff, Daryl and Dimitar for accepting membership into our family with such generosity of spirit and kindness; to first cousins, especially Adele, Gene and Lauretta, for the gifts of laughter and lifelong friendships; and to the remarkable and wonderful McGee clan in Indiana, Illinois, Louisiana, Colorado and Florida, Janice, Nancy, Cindy, Shirley, Shelley, and their families. Most importantly, to my sisters Kathy and Karen for their unflinching love, devotion and caring during the decades of good times, and more recently, during many a challenging moment and bumpy ride. Dziekuje!
My life was immeasurably enriched by a small army of friends, acquaintances, neighbors and work associates. I have always believed that we are no more or less than products of our environment, our experiences and our particular toss of the dice. Thank you all for welcoming me into your lives with such grace, generosity, wisdom, kindness, willingness to share and love. May you continue to live, laugh, love, prosper and carry on splendidly. I am truly grateful to you, and for it all.
Should you wish, consider a contribution in my memory to Historic Lewes Farmers Market, P.O. Box 185, Nassau, DE 19969; Delaware Hospice, 100 Patriots Way, Milford, DE 19963; or Beebe Medical Foundation, 902 Savannah Road, Lewes, DE 19958.
Services are private.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, Lewes.
Visit Mr. Roman's Life Memorial webpage and sign his virtual guestbook at parsellfuneralhomes.com.
