DOROTHY LAVERL MILLER

Dorothy Laverl (Parker) Miller was born in Austin, Texas, on April 08, 1926. She was the first daughter born to Clina O.Z. Parker and Dorothy Duncan Parker. Her two younger siblings—Ernestine (Harris) and Clina “Sonny” Parker, Jr., and their parents came to San Diego in 1944 to work in the family restaurant, the Texas Tamale Kitchen. Except for temporary stops in Guam, Riverside, and Oakland, CA, Dorothy Miller spent the next 79 years in San Diego, California. Fifty-eight years were spent with the dashing young navy man she met and married at Calvary Baptist Church. In the 16 years since Johnnie B. Miller’s passing, Dorothy Miller bravely faced the challenges of widowhood with dignity, grace, and resistance-- an exemplar of a life well-lived for her four daughters, and an array of extended family and friends. Dorothy Miller, or “Peewee”, as she was affectionately called by her Texas relatives and friends, was a revelation. Never a spotlight or attention seeker, she often underestimated the impact she had on those around her with a kind word, a steady presence, an expected “little piece of change” during hard times, some macaroni and cheese, a handwritten note, or a well-timed phone call. Her favorite pastimes were doing crossword puzzles, reading, listening to music loudly—and keeping up with current events in the paper as well as on public access television. As her eyesight faded in her later years, she became an avid “listener” to audio books of all kinds thanks to the National Library for the Blind. Mrs. Miller had an abiding belief in the power of education for her children, grandkids, and grandchild. Whenever they visited, she broke out her secret stash of worksheets, math problems, and books so their little minds would not be too idle. Life, and the family’s move to San Diego, interrupted her brief academic career at Tillotson College in Austin. Though her husband took great pride in his ability to provide for his stay-at-home wife and children, Mrs. Miller had a profound interest in early childhood education. She became a Teacher’s Aide at Chollas Elementary School in 1965. She later, completed some evening courses in early education as well. She retired from Chollas in the early 1990s and remained in touch with several of her colleagues there. Mrs. Miller also found meaning and purpose in the intersections of her spiritual and volunteer life. She was a member and a church secretary at Calvary Baptist Church, and New Paradise Baptist Church served as her final church home. Dorothy Miller took great pride in belonging to the Women’s Missionary Union where she remained a lifelong member in good standing. She appreciated that the WMU continued to reach out long after she became less able to drive. Mrs. Miller also put her cooking and motivational skills to use with Dedicated Sisters Helping Sisters, participating in the group’s ministry to one of San Diego’s downtown women’s shelters. She believed strongly that women should think for themselves, have their own just-in-case-money, and make their own choices. She was determined never to be a burden—a goal she kept faith with all of her life. She died peacefully in her San Diego home on Sunday, September 03, 2023 at ninety-seven years of age. Dorothy Miller is remembered fondly by relatives, friends, family, and colleagues as a woman with a kind heart, common sense, and a steely resolve. Dorothy Laverl Miller is survived by her daughters Elizabeth (Michael Weldon), Patricia (Robert) Scotlan, Karen K. Miller); grandchildren Erik Waltower (Lance Toma), Jonathan Ekweozor, Whitney Walker (Champaine Ivy), Adam Walker; great-grandson Reggie Webb; Sister-in-law Addye Parker, nieces Debra Nelson and Rachelle Faulk, and a host of extended family members. She is predeceased by her parents, her siblings Ernestine Harris and Clina “Sony” Parker, and her youngest daughter Randal Elaine Walker.

EVEN WHEN MY EYES CAN'T SEE

I WILL TRUST THE VOICE THAT SPEAKS TO ME....

PEACE BE STILL...PEACE OVER ME

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