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BIOGRAPHY:
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Elizabeth Olney Miller (1909 - 2010)
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November 10, 2010, passed away peacefully in her home at Valley Manor, at age 101. The daughter of Bessie Brainard Olney and William Ray Olney, she was born in Oneida, New York, on January 3, 1909. She moved to Rochester with her family at age 11 where she continued a long and, in her words, a blessed life.

She graduated from Smith College in l930. She then obtained a masters degree in early childhood education from the University of Rochester in l932. Bette, as she was always known, taught for the next eight years in a demonstration nursery school developed under a Rockefeller Foundation grant to show the importance of early childhood education.

Bette married the great love of her life, Frederick Samuel Miller, Jr., on December 29, l941, just weeks after Pearl Harbor was bombed and the US entered into World War II. Bette and Fritz raised two boys and with them spent many years enjoying weekend outings for hiking, skiing, school activities and periodic large family reunions.

With Fritz, Bette was active in the Central Presbyterian Church and later the Downtown United Presbyterian Church. She was a devoted daughter, helping her parents remain in their own home for the rest of their lives. Bette enjoyed entertaining friends and family, using old family recipes for meals served in her small but elegant dining room, notable for its pink décor and candle lit table settings. She found joy in the simple sights of nature right in her backyard and in the sunrises and evening stars she saw from her kitchen window.

During Fritz's retirement, the couple travelled widely. In her final years Bette continued to shine as an extroverted hostess, welcoming new residents to the Valley Manor retirement community. Her enthusiasm touched the lives of many people.

She credited her long and energetic life to the love within her family, her religious faith, a positive attitude, and the satisfaction of helping others, if only in small ways.

She is survived by her son William and his wife Ann of Frederick, MD; son Frederick and his wife Avis of Freeport, Maine; grand children Kimberly Maestas (husband Lee) , Christopher Miller (wife Kelly), Brooke Miller (husband Jeremy Duda), and Mark Miller; five great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased in l949 by her only sibling, William Olney, and in 2002 by Fritz, her husband of 61 years.
The family wishes to thank the Valley Manor staff, the Visiting Nurse Service, Mala Gupta, MD, and Beverly Fox-Schantz for their exemplary care.

Friends are welcome to attend a memorial service at Valley Manor, 1570 East Avenue, Rochester, on Monday, November 15 at 2:00 PM. There will be a private burial at the Riverside Cemetery. In Bette's remembrance, contributions may be made to the Mary Cariola Children's Center at 1000 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, NY 14620, or another charity selected by the donor. To share a memory or photo of Bette, visit www.anthonychapels.com.

Herbert married Lilian J. Burns about 1919. Lilian was born on 17 Sep 1886 in New York, USA; died in 0Nov 1981 in Rochester, Monroe County, New York, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]