Obituary of Mary Marshall Miller Tobelmann

Mary Marshall Miller Tobelmann passed away in Wytheville, Virginia, on Saturday, December 7, 2024. She was 73 years old. Mary was born in Winchester, Virginia, on April 11, 1951, to Bill and Jean Shryock Miller. Mary spent her childhood in Winchester, where she was baptized and confirmed in the Christian faith at Christ Episcopal Church. Mary reminisced fondly of her years in Winchester, from singing in the children’s choir, to participating in the annual Apple Blossom festivities, to spending time with family and friends at their family cabin at Lake Saint Clair. Mary graduated from John Handley High School in 1969. After high school, Mary moved to Richmond to attend the Richmond Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, where she earned her Registered Nurse degree in 1972. While studying in Richmond, she met Phil Tobelmann, her beloved husband of 51 years. They married on October 6, 1973, at Mary’s childhood home in Winchester. They returned to Richmond, where they lived and worked until moving to Wytheville in 1977. Mary continued working as a nurse at the Malin Hospital in Wytheville until 1984, when she chose to stay at home to raise their three children – Anne Marshall, Page, and Philip Jr. Mary was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend. She was a longtime member of Draper’s Valley Presbyterian Church. She loved animals and had a special fondness for the family dogs over the years—many border collies, and most recently, a rescue named Bella, who was a special comfort to Mary in her latter years. Mary is preceded in death by her mother, Jean Elizabeth Shryock Miller, and her father, Lt. Col. William Herbert Miller Jr. Mary is survived by her husband, Philip Charles Tobelmann; three children, Anne Marshall Reiffsteck and husband Mike of Chicago, Illinois, Page Elizabeth Beerworth and husband Adrian of Hobart, Tasmania, and Philip Charles Tobelmann Jr., of Salt Lake City, Utah; five grandchildren, Mary Marshall Reiffsteck and Claude Michel “Mikey” Reiffsteck III, both of Chicago, Illinois, and Jean Elizabeth Beerworth, Perry James Beerworth, and Rory Philip Beerworth, all of Hobart, Tasmania. Mary is also survived by her three siblings, Ann Pennington Graves and husband David of Great Falls, Virginia, William Herbert “Chip” Miller III, of Winchester, Virginia, and Elizabeth Lamb Romanus of Ashland, Virginia; and many nieces and nephews. The family would like to express a special thanks to Mary’s dear friend, Susan Morgan, who faithfully walked alongside Mary in her final years. Funeral services are scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, December 14, at Draper’s Valley Presbyterian Church, 2755 Old Baltimore Road, Draper, Virginia, with interment immediately following in the church cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the nonprofit Brock Hughes Medical Center in Wytheville, www.brockhughes.org. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the family at www.grubbfuneralhome.com Grubb Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.