Windham-Joanna (Kilroy) Miller, 73, of 1 Red Fox Road, Windham, died Wednesday afternoon, April 23, 2008 at Parkland Medical Center in Derry.
Joanna was born in Laconia on March 31, 1935 where she was raised and schooled. She was the daughter of the late George and Mary (McCarthy) Kilroy. She was employed in the Laconia Hospital (now the Lakes Region General Hospital), where she progressed from telephone switchboard operator to manager of the admitting office. She was aspiring toward a career in medicine, when love happened and she entered her major lifelong careers of Military Wife and Mother.
On November 25, 1955, Joanna married 2nd Lt. Clifford Miller at Our Lady of the Lakes Church, 50 Washington Street, Lakeport, New Hampshire. For the next 36 years, the growing Miller family traveled about the Northern Hemisphere. In February 1991, Joanna organized and established their 23rd home at 1 Red Fox Road in Windham, New Hampshire.
Throughout the many years and locales, there were always constants: Jo’s love of everything furred and feathered, particularly birds, and her green thumb that never seemed to fail her, regardless of the soil conditions she had to work with across the U.S. Many a year there was a bumper crop of flowers and vegetables, sometimes to the point of having to donate the bounty to friends and neighbors.
Her dream of a medical career was put on hold because of love, but it was never far from the surface. She was the best first responder for all of her children’s various mishaps…and there were plenty! But she was also able to use her innate skill with her other love: animals. Jo was known for taking in many a foundling baby bird and lovingly nurturing it with dog food and bugs to an adult bird. More profoundly she successfully did mouth-to-mouth on an injured kitten and brought it back to life. This devotion instilled the same love of critters in her children, all of whom presently have multiple pets in their lives.
Another skill that Jo honed over the years and through many travels was cooking. And not just with recipes. She could go to a restaurant and taste a particularly memorable dish, and just by tasting the ingredients she could replicate it at home, sometimes adding elements to put her own spin on it.
Most important to Jo were her kids. She was a loving, patient, and giving mother to her four children, and more often than not was also known as “Mom” to many of her children’s friends. Whatever home, in whichever city, there was always an open door policy and she frequently had Miller kids’ friends camping out at her home.
Joanna rightfully took great credit and pride in the success of her four children.
Dane D. Miller, now of Plano, Texas, was born November 5, 1957 in El Paso, Texas. In 2002, Dane launched an entrepreneurial Marketing Communications Systems business in Dallas, Texas. This year, he is enjoying his first year of 7-digit gross income, and facing all the inevitable expansion dilemmas. He has stayed atop the exploding expansion of digital systems capability and built a comfortable backlog of pleased customers, which spawns repeat and new business. (Google "Azuremarcom.com").
Kevin C. Miller, now of Northfield, New Hampshire, was born January 13, 1959 in Columbus, Mississippi. Kevin has experienced modern construction in many dimensions, from the viewpoint of hand tools to that of crew management. Along the way, he learned to operate an 8' wide pavement scarifier that is controlled in nine degrees of freedom; directing the machine as it grinds and engorges half a foot of pavement, and passing the ground product forward by attached conveyor to a parade of 18-wheelers. The whole kit & kaboodle are orchestrated from a control platform on the scarifier while traveling continuously at walking pace. He is now preparing his crew and equipment for the annual Summer business rush. (Google "Pike Industries").
Melissa A. Miller, now of Santa Cruz, California, was born March 1, 1960 in Columbus, Mississippi. Spurred by her mother’s love of all things great and small, Melissa has pursued the Veterinary Medicine career path, resulting in a MS, DVM, and PhD in Pathology. She has made her bones in the study and publishing of definitive original work on what is killing the endangered California Sea Otters, and several associated areas of environmental research, which has led to strengthened legal protection for wildlife throughout California. (Google "Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center, Santa Cruz, CA"..unless you enjoy raw bivalves and sushi, and want to continue enjoying them.)
Sara B. Miller, now of Sacramento, California, was born August 24, 1962 in Crescent City, California. Sara has been with CH2M HILL, a global environmental engineering and consulting firm, for 16 years. The many challenges that this company takes on in the environmental and engineering arenas has allowed Sara to work on a variety of exciting projects on several continents. Based in Sacramento, but frequently working in offices scattered across the U.S., her work as a graphic designer on technical proposals and presentations has most recently allowed her to travel to British Columbia, France and England. (Google CH2M HILL).
Joanna is survived by her husband of 53 years, Clifford Miller of Windham, New Hampshire, who recalls Jo’s patience and spirit of adventure. Both of those were needed in abundance living a military life. Right from the start, the honeymoon entailed a drive cross-country from New Hampshire to Sacramento, California to Cliff’s first posting at Mather AFB. Over the following 53 years of marriage there were many challenges that Clifford faced professionally, together with many remote TDYs that took him away from his family, including Alaska and several tours of duty in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam conflict. While stationed at Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio he also completed a difficult degree in Engineering while maintaining a full workload, none of which would have been possible but for Jo. During all of these times Joanna proved to be an anchor and provided a loving sense of stability to his life and to the household. Cliff and Jo were soulmates in every sense of the word.
Joanna is also survived by one brother, Denis Kilroy, of North Hampton, New Hampshire, and five grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Saturday, May 3, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. at Our Lady of the Lakes Church, 50 Washington Street, Laconia (Lakeport). Rev. George J. Soberick, pastor of the church celebrated the mass. Burial followed in the family lot at Bayside Cemetery, Laconia. There were no visiting hours.
For those who wish, the family suggests expressions of sympathy may be made in Joanna’s name to “Breathe New Hampshire”, 9 Cedarwood Drive, Unit 12, Bedford, NH 03110, (603-669-2411 or 1-800-835-8647) or visit www.breathenh.org