Romni Moore Cash

Romni Moore Cash (born Dorothy Beulah Moore) passed away peacefully on February 20, 2019. She was 95.

Born on January 12, 1924, in Berryville, VA, Romni developed a passion for acting at a young age. At 19, this passion led her to the Neighbourhood Playhouse in New York City where she studied method acting under the tutelage of Sandy Mizner. While there, she also had the opportunity to work with some of the great performing artists of the day, including her idol, Martha Graham.

At the end of WW II, Romni was commissioned by the military to join a theatre troop tasked with providing entertainment to the American troops still stationed in Europe. It was here that she fell in love with Arthur Cash, a medic and fellow actor, to whom she became engaged.

Arthur and Romni returned to the states to be married in Virginia. Afterwards, Romni helped her husband as he made his way through college and graduate school on the GI bill, giving birth to their son, Randall, along the way.

They settled in Colorado where their daughter, Hilarie, was born. They eventually bought a farm and it was here that they raised their two children. During this time Romni became an accomplished baker, an impeccable hostess, and a creative writer.

It was not until the next stage of her life, however, that Romni blossomed into the adventurous, playful, and fiercely independent woman that we will all remember her as. This chapter was lived as a single woman, first in California and then in Hawaii, where she moved after an extended holiday with her daughter. In Hawaii, Romni took up kayaking, body surfing, and lived out her dream of swimming with dolphins. She created and led three playback theatre troops, bringing to life the stories of her audiences, and also brought her drama skills to clowning for children in hospitals. She became an accomplished story-teller.

It was also in Hawaii that she took in and raised two of her grandsons, Santos and Hector. At a tumultuous time, she provided them with the foundation of love and support that enabled them to develop into the kind and gentle men that they are today. This intense devotion to her family continued when she moved to Oregon in order to help raise her third grandson, Luke.

The final chapter of Romni’s life was lived in the Pacific Northwest. Here she continued to support her family as it welcomed her two granddaughters, Patricia and Doris, and a new member, her great-granddaughter Emma. As cheerleader and financial backer, she helped the owners of reSTART, which included her daughter, to realize their dream of opening an adolescent program. She also wrote voraciously over this period, producing four memoirs and many children’s stories, while devoting her spare time to her beloved dogs, Toby and Tiptoe.

We will remember Romni as someone who laughed warmly, loved deeply, and lived courageously. She achieved far more than is recorded here; it is testament to the richness of her life that it is too much to fit into a few hundred words.