By JUDY RATTNER
Miller was known to many in the community as an energetic advocate of the arts and the schools, and family members said her spirit was a dominant force to the end. Fighting stage IV cancer for over a year, she was determined to attend the wedding of her granddaughter Jessica to Craig Tupot on May 24 at the Vanderbilt mansion. She died one week to the day after the wedding.
“I was grateful for the blessing of her life,” said daughter-in-law Diane Miller, “and for the peacefulness of her death.”
“I was deeply saddened to hear of Marion Miller’s passing,” said Mayor Mary Bossart. “She was a positive and genuine woman with enormous energy. Always willing to share her thoughts in an articulate and constructive way, she was active in many groups. It was through her devotion to the Guild for the Arts that our daughters, and so many other children and adults became interested in the performing arts. She was a wonderful force for good in Rockville Centre and will be missed.”
Miller was born on July 22, 1922 in the Bronx, to immigrant Eastern European Jewish parents. The family summered in the Rockaways and moved to Long Beach when Marion was 9. She graduated from Long Beach High School as one of the top 10 students in her class, and went on to Long Island University, where she studied merchandising. She left school in her senior year, however, using her typing and transcription skills to get a job in a medical office because she was planning to marry Julian Miller.
The pair had met at an LIU mixer, and Julian proposed that night. They married before he was to deploy to an Air Force base in Texas, so that she could accompany him. On the base, she became the chief clerk and secretary to the judge advocate.
The couple had Barry, Kenneth and Cathy, and the young family settled in Rockville Centre in 1950, where Marion said she had found her niche. A third son, Charles, was born 15 years later. Marion and Julian had been married for 60 years when he died in 2001.
Miller was a working mother, unusual in the early years of her career. She ran the medical transcription service at South Nassau Communities Hospital — from her home — for over 20 years. Among other activities, she became deeply involved in the Rockville Centre Guild for the Arts.
Wayne Lipton, current president of the guild and the South Shore Symphony, said that Miller, his predecessor, produced 32 shows. When things got tough, Lipton said, she was the glue that held the shows together. “Just a few weeks ago, the South Shore Symphony dedicated its performance of Beethoven’s Ninth to her at St. Agnes Cathedral,” he said. “We’ll always remember her selling raffle tickets at the fireworks concerts and getting up to announce the winner. She was indefatigable. Marion will be fondly remembered and greatly missed.”
“She was a wonderful, wonderful person,” said former Mayor Gene Murray. “She was involved with bringing the symphony to Rockville Centre. But the major thing she did were the musicals. It was a tremendous amount of work. Each year she said it was time to stop, but she kept right on going. And her husband was her best supporter. He was always there for her.”
Miller made the most of her energy and organizational skills well into her 80s, when she organized a Long Beach High School reunion -— her class’s 70th.
Long after her children had kids of their own, Miller remained active, getting out the school budget vote and bringing music and art to the schools. She never missed an election-night count. Her letters to the editor were legend.
“We have certainly lost a community treasure,” said school board President Mark Masin. “Her love extended not only to the Rockville Centre School District but to the entire community as well.”
“She’s been a caring and dedicated member of our temple family and the community for many, many years,” said Peter Levy, president of Central Synagogue. “We mourn her passing and she will be missed.”
In addition to her children, Marion Miller is survived by her daughters-in law, Diane and Ronnie Miller; four grandchildren, Jill, Jessica, Jeffrey and Rebecca; and a great-grandson, Andrew. She was predeceased by her sister, Enid Peters Resnick.
The family planned a private service for her this week, and will schedule a public memorial at Central Synagogue in mid-August. Donations in Miller’s memory may be made to Hospice Care Network, 99 Sunnyside Boulevard, Woodbury, N.Y. 11797.
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