Joan Miller, loved to entertain
Joan Miller passed away Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021, at the Country Rest Home in Greenwood from complications of a long illness. Joan was born Nov. 20, 1926, in Los Angeles, Calif. She was the daughter of Ernest Smith Woodman and Elizabeth MacInnes Woodman.
Joan graduated from Immaculate Heart High School in Hollywood, Calif., on June 15, 1944. She attended the University of Southern California, where she was a member of Kappa Delta Sorority, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1948. She worked for a time at Universal Studios.
Joan moved to Hawaii where she did graduate work and received her teaching certification at the University of Hawaii. She taught at Hanahau’oli School in Honolulu from 1954 to 1956. Joan went to Okinawa in 1956 to teach at the elementary school on Kadena Air Base. While teaching in Okinawa, she met and fell in love with Major Frank S. Miller, whom she married on April 13, 1957, at the Kadena Air Base chapel. Joan and Frank moved to Dover in 1958 where her three children were all born.
In 1963, Joan and Frank moved to Rockville, Md., where she was involved with her children’s school activities. She was a Cub Scout Den Mother, a member of Christ Episcopal Church in Rockville where she also taught Sunday School, and she and her husband often played bridge socially. Joan was an accomplished pianist who encouraged her children in their musical endeavors.
Joan loved to entertain, especially during the holidays, and she enjoyed traveling, visiting Hawaii, Canada, Germany, Spain and Ireland, among other places. She also enjoyed trailer camping with her family. Joan later worked as an editor for GSO (Growth Stock Outlook), a financial newsletter based in Bethesda, Md.
Joan and Frank moved to Rehoboth Beach in 2002, where she enjoyed playing bridge with several groups, participating in neighborhood gatherings, and membership and activities with the local Republican Women’s Club and P.E.O. Chapter L, a philanthropic and educational organization in Lewes. In 2017, she moved to an apartment at an Asbury senior living community in Solomons, Md.
Joan had many friends, neighbors, relatives and caregivers who loved her and will miss her.
Joan was predeceased by her husband Frank in 2009. She is survived by her children: Kevin (Cynde) Miller of Palmer, Alaska, Maureen (Dave Richardson) Miller of Rehoboth Beach, and Alan (Isabelle) Miller of Germany; her grandchildren: Christin Miller, Jessica (Jason) Oliver and Sebastian Miller; and her eight great-grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m., Monday, Nov. 15, at Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, 16961 Kings Highway, Lewes. A viewing will be held the day prior, from 3 to 5 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 14. Interment will follow the services at 1 p.m., Monday, Nov. 15, at the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 16669 Patriots Way, Millsboro.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing protocols must be observed and masks must be worn by everyone participating in any aspect of the service.
All who cannot attend in person are invited to join the services via livestreaming by visiting the following link: parsellfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/permalink/10226337/LTWebcast.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions in Joan’s memory to the local P.E.O. Chapter L or P.E.O. International Foundation, donations.peointernational.org/peo-donation-foundation.
Visit Joan's Life Memorial webpage and sign her virtual guestbook at parsellfuneralhomes.com.
