Francena Miller
Francena Miller was determined to help others through education, without seeking her own gratification.
"I would say that she had a kind of steady, selfless, uncomplaining approach to life," Paul Miller said of his wife.
Mrs. Miller died Saturday, July 10, 2010, at University Hospital. She was 91.
She was born Jan. 29, 1919, in Ithaca, N.Y. to Frank and Vienna Lounsbery.
"She was a person of great determination," her husband said. "She was one who really worked things out for herself. She developed a real strength and independence and a quiet confidence that didn't expect any applause."
This independence stemmed from Mrs. Miller's upbringing, which was manifested into balancing a long professional career and taking care of her son, Michael Nolan, as a single mother before finding her second husband, Paul.
Her achievements include a doctorate at the Pennsylvania State University, professor of rural sociology and family studies at Penn State, assistant dean and director of the School of Home Economics at the University of Connecticut, national director of the American Association of University Women in Washington D.C., professor of sociology at Queens College, Charlotte, N.C. and professor of Family Studies at Rochester Institute of Technology.
During that time, Mrs. Miller was a participant in numerous state and national commissions on issues of women, families and poverty. She received a variety of awards for her civic contributions, including an honorary doctorate from Nazareth College of Rochester.
"For a woman to be a faculty member at a major university in the 1950s was quite unusual," her son, Michael Nolan, said. "Mom had a lot of courage for her era and did things that few women did professionally and personally,"
Her active lifestyle was not over when her professional career was finished.
"She and her husband have always been engaged people wherever they lived, they never really retired. They wanted to be involved in the community in ways that were important to them," Nolan said.
In Columbia, Mrs. Miller was active in the Unitarian Universalist Church, an advisory board member of the MU Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and the Women's Symphony League of the Missouri Theatre.
"She was very committed to the theater," Mr. Miller said. "She insisted that we contribute money to bring the (Missouri Theatre)through rough times."
Francena and Paul Miller met in a professional setting in 1961.
"Our paths just crossed," Mr. Miller said. "I am a sociologist by training and she asked me to come and give the opening speech at the banquet of a War on Poverty conference."
He continued, "I have had a long professional career, so had Francena, but everything I can say can come through the lens of a very deep love for her."
Mrs. Miller also taught her three grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren the value of respecting elders.
By taking their grandchildren hiking or to a dude ranch for a week every year, the Millers were able to grow closer.
"Francena and I have a whole lore of life and history that was unique to us, and (her grandkids) loved her in a way that she could never imagine," Mr. Miller said.
The family will hold a celebration of Mrs. Miller's life later.
She is survived by her husband; son Michael Nolan of Columbia; and three grandsons, Christopher Nolan, Ryan Thrush and Evan Thrush.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Lounsbery and Miller We Build Fund, the Kiwanis Club of Columbia, P.O. Box 158, Columbia, MO 65205.
Online condolences for the family may be left at www.parkfuneralservice.com.
