Marcia Ann Middleton-Kaplan

Marcia Ann Middleton-Kaplan z”l (may her memory be for a blessing) died peacefully at home in Walla Walla surrounded by family on September 10, 2024, following a prolonged and complex medical journey. She was 71 years old. Her tenacity, vivaciousness, and love of spectacle presented in myriad ways throughout her life.

Marcia earned her RN from Wesley-Passavant School of Nursing, Chicago; Bachelor of Science in Nursing (Cum Laude) from the University of Illinois Medical Center; and her Master of Arts in Psychology from Antioch University, Seattle. She also earned certificates as Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC). She spent much of her career in nursing, though all told her career was wide-ranging. Among the fields she worked in were spinal cord trauma, pediatric intensive care, AIDS hospice, managing an oncology clinic, managing medical and psychiatric care at a county jail, rehabilitation nursing at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, and childbirth instruction. As a psychotherapist, she founded the grief counseling program at St. Mary Medical Center, as well as providing inpatient psychiatric evaluations, outpatient counseling, and directing the Employee Assistance Program. She had more than 40 years of experience as an RN, clinician, manager, and educator, and more than 8 years of experience as a LCPC and LMFT. She finally ended her career as a clinical nursing instructor for both Washington State University–Tri-Cities and Walla Walla Community College, retiring in 2018. One of her ongoing projects was the as-yet unpublished memoir titled My Life as a Nurse: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, recounting her many experiences in nursing. She had even begun planning her final chapter in which she described her experience on the other side of the nursing profession: the 14 months she spent as a patient with an increasingly complex and debilitating illness.

Another professional and personal passion of Marcia’s was art. She loved to look at art and she loved to make art of all kinds. She had a special affection for the life and work of Frida Kahlo, and she showed her own artwork in Chicago, including at a gallery show called “War’s Doors” at d’Last Studios and Gallery in 2008. In 2013, Marcia traveled to Poland and Lithuania to participate in the reconstruction of the Gwoździec 17th century wooden synagogue using only the materials and techniques available to the original builders. The project is recounted in the documentary film Raise the Roof (2015), which was shown at the Seattle Jewish Film Festival in 2016, and the structure stands as a permanent installation in the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. In 2015, she appeared in the Harper College Theatre (Palatine, IL) production of Blythe Spirit as Madam Arcati, and in 2019, she appeared in the Walla Walla Little Theatre production of To Kill a Mockingbird as Mrs. Dubose. Most recently, she was working on a paint-by-numbers version of a photograph of daughter Julie and granddaughter Lois.

Marcia spent much of her adulthood on a spiritual quest before converting to Judaism in September 2001 and becoming a Bat Mitvah (“daughter of the commandments”) in June 2022, adopting the Hebrew name Davida bat Avraham v’ Sarah in memory her departed beloved nephew David. She also spent much of her adulthood searching for a geographical home, living in Chicago, IL, Champaign, IL, Bellevue, WA, Redmond, WA, Seattle, WA, and including three cross country moves before settling at last in Walla Walla, WA (for the second time) in 2015.

Marcia was an involved member of her community, taking and teaching Quest classes through Walla Walla Community College (classes taught include one on the traditional tile game Mah Jongg, two on Jane Austen, another on the Kennedys, and yet another on Royal Scandals from ancient times to the present, among others), participating in synagogue services at Congregation Beth Israel, participating as a board member with Shakespeare Walla Walla and as a volunteer with AAUW, hosting regular Mah Jongg meetups for a broad circle of friends, and supporting local arts institutions including the Walla Walla Symphony.

One of her favorite places was Seaside, OR, where love of sun, sand, and surf meant she spent days alternating between suntanning and wave jumping. Other loves include all things mermaid, planning and tending her beautiful and prolific garden, costume dramas and Jane Austen, outrageous – in the best way – glasses, adding more chili paste to her five-star-spicy curry, and driving around town in her Caribbean Pearl convertible. In younger days, she participated in synchronized swimming in school before organized women’s sports in school were mandated by Title IX. She had also been an avid jogger, tennis player, and skier, as many of her longtime friends can attest.

This obituary is a testament to an amazing daughter, wife, mother (in-law), grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend. It is full of love and memories and still does not even come close to painting a full picture of Marcia, who she was as a person, or what she meant to the people who loved her.

Marcia was preceded in death by her parents, Glenn and Lois (née Woodbeck) Middleton, and nephews John Andrew and Mark David Middleton. She is survived by beloved husband of 20 years Richard Middleton-Kaplan, first husband Ron Balazs (Patricia O’Brien), brother Mark Middleton (Paula Massey), children Julie (Kyle Grove), Nicholas, and Amy Balazs, granddaughter Lois Imogen Balazs Grove, nephews Christopher and Phil (Megan) Middleton, many cousins, and more wonderful friends than we could ever hope to name.

Per Jewish custom, burial will occur within three days of death. A funeral will be held Friday, September 13, 2024, at 9:30 a.m. at Congregation Beth Israel followed by interment at 11:00 AM at Mountain View Cemetery. Burial will be followed by a reception at the Middleton-Kaplan home. A celebration of life ceremony will be held in October (date TBD).

In lieu of flowers, donations in Marcia’s name may be made to Congregation Beth Israel of Walla Walla, WA, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Wounded Warrior Project through the Herring Groseclose Funeral Home, 315 W Alder St, Walla Walla WA 99362. Friends and family are invited to sign the online guestbook at www.herringgroseclose.com.