BLUE HILL
Betty Jane (B.J.) Miller, age 98, a longtime resident of Blue Hill, died peacefully on Sept. 1 after a short illness. She was born on June 5, 1921, in Huntington, W.Va., the daughter of Arthur and Leah Barnett. B.J. received a degree from the University of Michigan, where she majored in economics and psychology and was a member of Pi Phi sorority.
During World War II, she joined the American Red Cross and served for several years in Bath, England, and Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria. She was in the first Red Cross contingent going into Germany at the conclusion of the war. After the war, she worked in the personnel division of Bristol-Myers Co. in New Jersey, where she met her future husband, Alan B. Miller Jr. They were married in 1948 and raised four sons in Stamford, Conn. For many years, B.J. taught junior high math at the Rippowam Cisqua School in Bedford Village, N.Y., and, later, sold and invested in real estate.
B.J.’s husband predeceased her, as did two of their sons, Stephen and Douglas. Two other sons, Peter and Christopher, currently live in Stamford, Conn., and Pound Ridge, N.Y., respectively. She also is survived by daughter-in-law Alison Miller of Portland, Ore., several grandchildren, nieces and nephews and one great-grandchild.
In 1994, B.J. and Alan moved to Blue Hill and, in recent years, she has lived at Parker Ridge. She made many close friends there over the years — amongst both staff and residents — and was one of the community’s most dedicated bingo players. Other longstanding interests included playing the piano, rug hooking, tending to her house plants and enjoying art and family photos.
In later years, B.J. was an avid “ticker tape watcher,” indulging her longtime fascination with the stock market.
B.J.’s family wishes to express their heartfelt thanks to the Parker Ridge staff for their loving care and support of B.J. There will be a celebration of her life at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19 at Parker Ridge. She will be buried alongside her husband in Long Ridge Union Cemetery, Stamford, Conn.