Bernice (Meyer) Miller

Bernice (Meyer) Miller, 99, Of Millersburg, died September 28 at Walnut Hills Retirement Community, Walnut Creek.  A memorial service is Planned for 11 AM at Martins Creek Mennonite Church on Saturday, October 3 with pastors Tom Michaels and Patrick and Christine Nafziger officiating. Viewing will be held from 10 to 11 am Saturday at the church with private interment following the service. 



Born on September 27, 1921, on the family farm between Sterling and Rittman, Bernice was the eldest child of Elmer and Sarah (Liechty) Meyer. She graduated from Creston High School  in 1939 and Goshen College, Indiana, in 1945 with a bachelor’s degree in English Education. One of her early teaching experiences included serving in a state school in Exter, Rhode Island. 



She married Sturges Miller on December 28, 1946, at Oak Grove Mennonite Church in Smithville. Six months later they sailed for India where they engaged in relief work with Mennonite Central Committee. Upon their return, they lived on the family farm where they reared their four sons and cared for their parents in their declining years. Bernice taught elementary school at Berlin and remedial reading in Winesburg for a total of 20 years. In later life, she and Sturges served as teachers in Nigeria under Mennonite Central Committee for three years and in Tanzania under Eastern Mennonite Missions for two years.


They were charter members of Millersburg Mennonite Church, where Bernice was a Sunday school teacher and elder.



Bernice was an avid reader and organized the Holmes County Women‘s Book Club. She was the compelling force behind the founding of Save and Serve, the MCC thrift store located in Millersburg, where she and Sturges volunteered as weekly managers during their retirement years.



Surviving her are four children and their spouses: Joseph (Rebecca Slough) Miller, Elkhart, IN; Ben( Elaine Hostetler) Miller, Millersburg; John Miller, Bakersfield, CA; Mark (Brenda Hershey) Miller, Reinholds, PA; six grandchildren: Brandon( Alexandria), Adam(Beverly), Tim, Jeptha(Alyssa), Elsa and Anna; and one great grandchild, Lynden. She was preceded in death by an infant son, Johnathan Miller, and siblings Paul Meyer, Vernon Meyer, Lois King, Art Meyer and Fred Meyer.



The family suggest memorial contributions be made to Mennonite Central Committee or Eastern Mennonite Missions. Those wishing to share a memory or submit online condolences may do so by visiting www.alexanderfhinc.com. Alexander Funeral Home, Millersburg, Ohio is handling the arrangements.
 

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