Mamie Jewel Kreisman

Jan. 29, 1920 - Feb. 24, 2019

Mamie Kreisman, age 99, of the Mountain Meadows community in Ashland, OR, passed away peacefully on the evening of Sunday, February 24th due to a stroke, surrounded by her loving family. She was born in a log cabin near Shreveport, LA to Silas and Hazel Liles. She, along with her siblings Ernest, Emma, Harry, Ruby, and S.E., grew up on the family cotton farm. In 1929, the family moved to Arkansas, where she finished her schooling.

After graduation, she attended Magnolia Junior College, majoring in Music. While there, she met and married Govan Longstreet Tribble in 1942. Together they had four children: Van, Ann, Teresa, and Gary. The family moved around the world due to Govan's Naval career, eventually ending in California. There, Mamie attended Sonoma State, receiving a B.A. in Psychology.

In 1969, the family moved from Marin Co. here to the Rogue Valley, where Mamie eventually became a social worker at the V.A. Domiciliary in White City. In 1977, Mamie moved to beautiful Ashland, which she loved more than any place she'd ever lived. Mamie was a long-time member of the Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, where she met Arthur Kreisman. They married in 1994, and shared a beautiful, loving relationship for 18 years. When she married Arthur, she also gained four sons—Peter, Steve, Richard, and James—along with their wonderful families. After Arthur's death, Mamie moved to Mountain Meadows—a vibrant community in which she felt loved, accepted, and at home in her final years.

Mamie was a gracious, loving, open-minded, intelligent woman. She was passionate about music throughout her entire life—from playing guitar and singing with her sisters on the radio at a young age, to performing with the Siskiyou Singers and Rogue Valley Chorale into her mid-nineties. Along with her deep love of music, she also passed along her great love of the natural world, gardening, and travel to her children and grandchildren, whom she loved most of all.

She is survived by her children: Van, Teresa, Gary and his wife Merilyn; her grandchildren: Marc, John (Maritza), Anna (Jake), Melody, Eric (Rachael), Michael, and David (Stephanie); and great-grandchildren: Alex, Mia, Devun, Gavin, Kurt, River, and Harper. She is also survived by her extended Kreisman family, who have remained an important part of her life.

A memorial service will be held on Monday, March 4 at 11:00am at Litwiller-Simonsen Funeral Home, located at 1811 Ashland St. Ashland, OR.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution to the Arts, Hospice, or a cause of your choice.