Barbara Miller

Barbara was born August 7, 1921 in Los Angeles to Nellie (Mills) and Edwin Zettervall. After her father's death, her mother remarried Victor Hanson, who adopted her and loved her as his own.

Barbara spent her formative years in Minnesota, graduating from Ortonville High School, and from Hamline University in 1943. She taught high school for one year, but then went to work in the emerging airline industry in reservations for Northwest Airlines in Minneapolis and Chicago.

She saw the end of World War II while in Chicago, and in 1947 transferred to Seattle as a reservations supervisor. She arrived in Seattle after flying over the Cascade Mountains by moonlight. She found the colorful gardens of Seattle enchanting.

Close friends introduced her to her husband-to-be, Kinney Miller. Even an upset sailboat in the Ballard Locks didn't dissuade her, and they were married January 20, 1949. They had three children.

After the children began arriving, Barbara became a fulltime homemaker. They followed Kinney's career in agriculture, living in Mt. Vernon, Wash., Vancouver, Wash., and Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, before settling in Moses Lake Wash. in 1968.

When she first saw Moses Lake, her thought was she'd hate to live there, but she grew to love it. At their lakefront home she enjoyed watching the geese, ducks, swans, grebes and blue herons from their backyard. She also loved watching the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren playing in the yard, in the lake, or on the ice.

Barbara loved to host family and church gatherings. She enjoyed cooking and gardening, and was acclaimed for her roses. She was known for her easy acceptance of all and her inquiring mind. She enjoyed sailing in the San Juans and evening cruises on Moses Lake.

As her children grew older, Barbara returned to work, first as a substitute teacher, then as a travel agent, and then as a high school business teacher in Post Falls, Idaho and in Ephrata Wash. Barbara completed her master's degree and found teaching to be very rewarding and challenging, particularly with the advent of computers. She retired in 1987.

Retirement enabled Barbara to become more active in her church. She served as Deacon and a member of the church choir of the First Presbyterian Church of Moses Lake. She helped serve church dinner on Wednesday night and she volunteered to read to elementary school children.

She passed away Saturday, August 28 at Riverview Care Center in Spokane.

She is survived by: her husband of 55 years, Kinney Miller of Spokane; children, Steve (and Mary) Miller of Seattle, Marilyn (and Tony) Kochner of Spokane and Elaine (and Dan) Sivey of Prosser; seven grandchildren; and numerous great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of Moses Lake on September 11, 2004. Memorials may be made to the Riverview Care Center, the Cure for PSP (www.psp.org), or the First Presbyterian Church of Moses Lake.