Miriam and her late husband, Jerome Oxman, who passed in 2013, started the museum historical collection in 1950 when he bought a discarded B-29 Bomber Norden Bombsight for $9.80, which is still in the store. Now containing about 1,600 items, the collection includes fighter jet ejection seats, a heat-seeking missile tip, a B-17 cockpit, a 1940s land mine, a pair of “minefield walking shoes,” a funnel-like “fighter pilot relief tube,” and a B-29 Bomber engine. The Museum is actually the entrance to the store, and there is no charge to see it. 

Miriam Oxman with her late husband Jerome was honored on the field at Dodger Stadium for 48 years of Little League Baseball Sponsorship. She gave museum tours to schools, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Young Marines. She supported many youth organizations and was active in Women’s American ORT, Temple Beth Ohr in La Mirada, the La Mirada and Santa Fe Springs Chambers of Commerce, Meals on Wheels, and Associated Surplus Dealers. 

Miriam Oxman’s survivors include her sons Murray, Brian, and Jason; sister Phyllis Sarto and Barbara Snyder; four grandchildren; and three great grandchildren. Miriam Oxman loved her family, her Jewish heritage, her country, and every day she spent in the store. The family plans to continue operating Oxman’s Surplus, where a memorial will be held.

Editors note: We are saddened to hear about Mrs. Oxman, but we know she lived a fulfilling life. She was a family friend and a friend of the La Mirada Blog. Many of you know Oxman's was a great place for kids to hang out in the seventies. I am extremely proud that the last public appearance and photograph together of Mr. and Mrs. O was at the 2012 Blog Fest when we honored Mr. O along with other influential La Mirada community members.