Bernice Veronica Miller

A memorial funeral Mass for Bernice Veronica Miller will be held Thursday, November 15, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. at Holy Disciples Catholic Church in Puyallup, WA, with Father Matthew O’Leary officiating. Inurnment will be Friday, November 16, 2018 at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, WA.

Bernice Veronica Miller was born Bernice Herman on October 24, 1937 in Sydney, Montana. She was the 7th of 8 children born to Peter and Ana Herman. She lived on a farm in Sydney, Montana while she was young. Then her family moved to Georgetown in Seattle. For most of her growing up years, she lived in a house across the street from St. George Catholic church in Seattle. For a short time she thought she would become a nun, but Gene Miller came into her life and changed those plans. On July 19, 1957 she married Gene in Seattle, Washington and for the rest of her life, she followed him around the country.

She moved to Santa Ana, California while Gene served in the Marines. There she had her first 2 daughters, Michelle and Coleen. After the Marines, she followed Gene back home to Renton, Washington where she gave birth to the rest of her 8 children – Marion, Linda, Jon, Sandra, Joel and in 1971 she had her youngest son Raymond to complete a perfect 4 girls and 4 boys. In the summer of 1971 she packed up her household and headed to Pueblo, Colorado where Gene was taking a one year class for his next job working for the US government. They lived in a 100 year old farmhouse heated by coal and surrounded by corn fields.

In 1972 they headed for Pennsylvania to be greeted by Hurricane Agnes as they were looking for a new home. They settled in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania for the next 4 ½ years. Bernice got a job at a donut shop working evenings to help make ends meet. She moved to working retail in a department store before eventually getting a job with Pennsylvania Blue Cross/Blue Shield as a claims adjuster.

In the winter of 1977 Bernice and Gene decided to move from the suburbs of Harrisburg to the country just outside of Gettysburg. They moved to a 150 year old farmhouse outside of Your Springs/East Berlin. They lived right on the dividing line of the 2 townships, so it seemed like every couple of years their address would change from Your Springs to East Berlin and then back again. For the next 18 years, she continued to live, laugh, love and work as she watched 7 of her 8 children leave home to go to school and join the Army, Air Force and Navy. Bernice and Gene took every opportunity to join the military children at their graduations and overseas. They were able to travel to Germany, England and Italy. Her oldest son, Marion, married his High School sweetheart and stayed close to work on the dairy farm next door. He also gifted her with 2 of her 11 grandkids to adore, which she did with all her heart!

In June of 1983, Gene was ordained Deacon Gene Miller and Bernice was a warm, loving and welcoming partner in his ministry. In 1995, after both had retired, they decided to move back home to Washington State. They settled in Graham and joined Cosmas and Damian Church in Orting, sharing their love and joy with any and all who needed it. On June 4, 2000, they lost their oldest daughter, Michelle, to cancer. It was a devastating loss, but their faith, family and their beloved Cosmas and Damian community surrounded them with love and helped them cope.

On July 19, 2008, Bernice and Gene celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. It was a wonderful celebration of their life and marriage. Within the next couple of years her family and friends began to notice a change in Bernice. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. In the spring of 2012, Bernice and Gene made one last move to Florida so their daughter Linda could help with their care. Sadly, it was not much longer before Gene was also diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. For the next 6 years we watched Bernice slowly slip away from us. We lost her oldest son, Marion, in 2016. On July 19, 2018 they had been married for 60 years.

Bernice Veronica Miller went home to be with the Lord at the age of 80 on August 3, 2018. We know that Michelle and Marion were there to greet her and welcome her to Heaven. Her parents and siblings were also part of the welcoming committee. Bernice is survived by her husband, Gene, her children, Coleen, Jon, Linda, Sandy, Joel, Raymond, her 11 grandchildren and her 6 great-grandchildren. Rest in Peace, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and friend. You are sorely missed.