Jeannette Miller, formerly of Berlin, NY, went peacefully in her sleep on November 2, 2016, while in the exceptional care of the Watson House Community Care Home in North Bennington, VT.
[private]She was born in the Town of Scriba, NY, just north of the City of Oswego, to Frank G. and Anna L. Stone. She attended Scriba and Oswego schools, graduating from Oswego Normal School (Teachers College). After her first year of teaching near Scriba, she was recruited and moved to Berlin, where she taught in the one-room schoolhouse in Grafton. She earned her M.S. in Education from North Adams State Teachers College, and proudly taught elementary through high school classes for the Berlin Central School District for many years. She also worked with Literacy Volunteers for generations of children and adults in the Berlin area. It was during this time that she formed life-long friendships with many members of the faculty and the community. In 1970, Jeannette returned to her native Scriba to care for her aging parents, and taught in the Mexico, NY school system, before retiring in 1975 after 36 years of teaching. For her “retirement” years, she returned to Berlin, and worked as a counselor for the The Commission on Economic Opportunity in Troy. She worked with Head Start, the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) food program, and the Heating and Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), driving an outreach van throughout eastern Rensselaer County for 19 years, until she truly retired in 1994.
Jeannette loved adventures. She traveled extensively throughout the United States and Europe. She was an accomplished artist, creating beautiful hand-hooked wool rugs, and doing elaborate folk art paintings. But most of all, nothing pleased her more than to be with all of her family. She derived great pleasure in watching each new generation grow and achieve, and could not have been more proud of everyone.
Jeannette was predeceased by her husband, Charles Miller, a native of Berlin, in 1963. They were the owners, and he was the operator, of Miller’s Garage on Main Street in Berlin for several years. She is survived by their three daughters (“the Miller girls”) and their husbands, Cherie & Edward Schwartz of Chatham, NY, Carol & Peter Gagliardi of Temecula, CA, and Mary Jane & Buck Smith of Pemaquid, ME. In addition, she has two wonderful granddaughters and their husbands, Christina & Randy Jansson of Temecula, CA, and Julie & Riccardo Smith-Hernandez of Hamden, CT. She was absolutely delighted with her five great-grandchildren, Amanda, Holly, and Caitlin Jansson, and Teo and Lucas Hernandez. She was predeceased by an infant son, Sherwood Donald Miller, and her only grandson, Michael Gagliardi.
Jeannette spent not only 55 years as an educator and social worker, but throughout her life, helped others. Her legacy is that strong commitment to helping others, and unconditional love of her family. We wish to extend our appreciation to all of those who were friends throughout the years, and to those who called, wrote, or visited during her final years. You gave her, and her family, many wonderful memories. In her honor, please do a simple act of kindness.
The family wishes to especially thank the owners and staff of the Watson House Community Care Home, for their commitment to unparalleled care during the past five years.[/private]