Patricia A Miller née Alm passed away on July 2, 2023. She was 86 years old. A lifelong resident of Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood, she was well loved by her family and friends.
She was the beloved wife of the late John Miller her husband of 61 years. Loving mother of Kathleen (Joseph) Danahy, the late Michael, James, Daniel (Ranjana), John (John), and Laurie (Joseph) Fossett. Dear grandmother of Joseph Patrick(Sarah) Danahy, the late Kevin Danahy, Elaine Danahy and her fiancé Christopher Gerhard, Ria Miller, Ryan Miller, Elliot Fossett and George Fossett.
She was preceded in death by her 3 older sisters Laverne, Joanne and Shirley and her brother William. She is survived by her loving sister Rita Arp and many fond nieces and nephews.
Mom had a great sense of humor and she absolutely loved old movies, Marx Bros. and W.C. Fields films were some of her favorites. She loved mysteries like the Sherlock Holmes series with Basil Rathbone as Sherlock, and she couldn't get enough of Clint Eastwood movies. She loved many of the old classics, too - Razor's Edge was one of her favorites.
Mom also loved music and she and Dad could really cut a rug in their younger days, ballroom dancing to Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey Orchestras. She also loved the old crooners like Perry Como, Eddie Fisher, Nat King Cole, and of course, Frank Sinatra.
We'd be remiss not to mention Dinah Washington, one of her all-time favorite singers. She loved to sing, whether she was cooking or just walking down the hallway.
I'd like to add that my Mom was one of the strongest people I know. She'd been through many harrowing things and still managed to keep her dry sense of humor. She's inspired me in so many ways, but probably one of the biggest was her love of baking and cooking. She was excellent at both. And I aspire to carry on that tradition with my kids.
I think what will stay with me most is the sheer generosity and kindness my mother would show to so many people, not just her children. I've had friends over the years who were down and out or just needed some extra caring and both Mom and Dad would be happy to help however they could. It wasn't necessarily monetarily (hey, that rhymed), they never had a lot of money. They just did what they could with what they had, maybe food or shelter fr a night when there was nowhere else to go. The world has always been full of mean people, and I really hate to see another good person leave this world, especially now, as there is more meanness than ever, What we can all do is carry on that legacy of being good and kind whenever, wherever we can.
I'm going to miss my mother every single day, as I have missed my father for the past five years. I really feel I had a very special bond with my mother, and I guess there is something to the saying, "there's no love like a mother's love." I love you, Mom.
I would like to add some thoughts on the disease that took our mother's life, vascular dementia. She dreaded that diagnosis and rightfully so. The disease took her piece by piece causing her extreme bouts of anxiety and depression. As a family, we were
dismayed at how upset and confused she had become and yet she always knew who we were and that we were important to her. My mother struggled with the disease for 8 years, the last few were extremely difficult for her and all those who cared about her, and yet some days you could visit and there was a spark of her old self, she found humor in the goings on at her memory care home. She found comfort in the visits from the chaplain, who she insisted on calling her Patsy, which was her childhood nickname.
She asked us to pray with her and so we did. In the end she found peace and was united with her loving family in heaven.
Mom had a lot of little sayings she'd use. Here are a few of those sayings and how you can use them in your life:
If someone is going somewhere and you want them back right away, "no dillydallying"
If someone is talking too long and you're growing impatient, "they're moving like molasses in January."
If you find yourself exasperated at something or someone, you can always exclaim, "Lord, love a duck."
If you take longer to do something and someone is impatient: "Okay, okay. Don't get excited."
And finally. if something not-so-good happened and you're feeling sad or bad about it; "This too shall pass." Maybe.
Hopefully the aching pain present in our hearts now will fade a bit with time, but what will not pass is our missing you, Mom.
We're going to miss Mom every day of our lives, but we will carry her love and her spirit with us forever.
Visitation for Patricia will be Thursday, July 6, 2023 from 3-8 Pm and Friday, July 7, 2023 from 8-9:30 am at Walter Pomierski & Son Funeral Home, 1059 West 32nd Street, Chicago, IL 60608. Mass will be celebrated at St. Mary of Perpetual Help Church, 1039 West 32nd Street, Chicago, IL 60608 at 10 am. Interment Resurrection Cemetery. (773)927-6424
In lieu of flowers donations to Lora's Fund at Peace Village or the Alzheimer's Association would be appreciated.
