Celia Aurelia (Mullenax) Miller, 83, went to her heavenly home on Feb. 21, 2024, at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, Harrisonburg, Virginia. Formerly of Franklin and Greenwood, Delaware, she resided at VMRC for the past eight years after a stroke in 2013.
Mrs. Miller came from humble beginnings. She was born June 25, 1940, at home on Smith Creek, the oldest child of the late Fred B. and Ella Vaiden (Dahmer) Mullenax, later moving to nearby Franklin.
Photos of her from early in her school career show her in a simple dress and wool stockings, much like girls from earlier generations. Throughout her life she had little interest in material things, preferring a simple, thrifty lifestyle.
After graduation in 1958 from Franklin High School, she headed for Shepherd College with a scholarship awarded to one student from each West Virginia county. There she met her future husband, Charles Emanuel “Charlie” Miller, Sr., winner of the same scholarship. Graduating in 1962 with a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education and library science, she taught at Maysville Elementary School before marrying her husband on July 13, 1963, in Maysville. They made their home in Greenwood, Delaware, until his death on March 20, 1995. She worked as a school librarian in Delaware for about a year before becoming a homemaker.
Mrs. Miller was influenced by her family to be a loving and caring Christian woman, using her time and talents to serve others despite her quiet nature. She cared for everyone, from tiny babies to seniors. Her gentle spirit endeared her to people who knew her, as well as to complete strangers. She volunteered at her children’s schools, served in many ways at Bethany Church of the Brethren, engaged in a ministry to truckers, typed address lists for a Christian literature ministry, volunteered for a crisis pregnancy center (including crocheting baby booties), and participated in Right to Life marches in Washington, DC.
In 1999, she returned to Franklin to care for her parents but found time to teach Sunday school and sing in the choir at Franklin Presbyterian Church, work as a librarian at Brandywine Elementary School, earn certification as an emergency medical technician, and volunteer with the Franklin Rescue Squad. She travelled the country to attend the Church of the Brethren annual conference. She also flew to Russia, bringing Christian materials to a library in Tyumen where she organized their holdings and introduced the Dewey Decimal System.
She was gifted in many ways. Highly intelligent and curious, she loved to learn and explore, in childhood using her mother’s books to learn about flora and fauna and reading Shakespeare’s plays. She was a logophile (word lover) but far from loquacious, gregarious, or grandiloquent. Erudite, she excelled at Trivial Pursuit. She was also a crafter, with hobbies including beadwork, crocheting, drawing, weaving, quilting, and making three-dimensional stained glass objects; she designed and fabricated complicated bead tapestries. Additionally, she enjoyed hymns, folk music, and popular music from her youth. She played lever harp, a variety of recorder types, and piano.
She was at home in nature, enjoying warm, barefoot days. She gardened and canned and encouraged her family to stay healthy through eating local, organic foods and using natural remedies.
Surviving are her children, Charles Miller Jr. and Frederick Miller, both of Greenwood, Delaware and Melanie Miller of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; siblings Lannie C. Mullenax (Linda) of Martinsburg, Nancie E. Lambert of Bridgewater, Virginia, and Linda F. Mallow (Donald) of Upper Tract; eight nieces and nephews; and nine great-nieces/nephews. She also leaves behind many cousins, friends, and neighbors who will truly miss her.
She was also preceded in death by her maternal grandparents, John and Estella (Dickinson) Dahmer of Dahmer; and her paternal grandparents, (Henry) Walter and Mamie Katherine (Collins) Mullenax of Blue Grass, Virginia.
Family visitation will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Franklin Presbyterian Church, followed by a memorial service. A memorial service at Bethany Church of the Brethren in Farmington, Delaware, will be held at 4 p.m. April 14.
Memorial donations can be made to the Franklin Rescue Squad, Franklin Presbyterian Church, Bethany Church of the Brethren, or Camp Mardela (https://www.campmardela.org/donate).
Condolences and memories may be shared with the family at kygers.com.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” – II Timothy 4:7-8 (NRSV)
